Unlicensed Accountants may be Exempt From Overtime Pay Requirements

Unlicensed junior accounts who performed audits and provided other accounting services for their employer’s clients brought a wage-and-hour class action against the employer for overtime pay they were allegedly owed. The employer argued that the accountants were exempt from the wage-and-hour law’s overtime provisions under the “professional” exemption. Under California law, to claim the “professional” exemption, the employer must show that the employees were: (1) licensed or certified by the State of California and primarily engaged in law, medicine, dentistry, or accounting; or (2) primarily engaged in an occupation commonly recognized as a learned or artistic profession. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the accountants could be exempt if their job duties indicated that they were engaged in a “learned profession,” even though they did not have CPA licenses. The court emphasized that when determining whether an unlicensed accountant is exempt or non-exempt, a “fact-specific inquiry” is required. This case serves as a reminder that whether an employee is exempt or non-exempt should not be determined categorically, but should be determined according to the job duties the employee actually performs.