There are two types of professional exemptions: learned professional employees with advanced learning – including certain computer professionals - and creative professional employees with creative talents.

Generally, employees who qualify as “professionals” possess advanced, specialized education or talents, plus considerable control over their time. There are many employees who seem like they would qualify as professionals under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act – but don’t. And getting it wrong can land you in a heap of expensive trouble, including paying out several years worth of back pay, plus additional damages and attorney’s fees.

Order this in-depth, practical 90-minute audio conference all about the professional exemption. Our experts – two experienced employment law attorneys – will explain the rules governing this exemption, including the 2004 changes to the “work requiring advanced knowledge” test, as well as others. They’ll also share practical techniques for classifying professional employees correctly, the best ways to avoid common overtime exemption mistakes, and advice on conducting effective internal audits to spot errors before they turn into big trouble.

You and Your Colleagues Will Learn:

• The most common mistakes employers make when classifying professional employees for overtime purposes – and how you can avoid repeating them
• How to avoid misclassifying your IT professionals
• How to apply the new salary level and standard duties tests to your professional workers
• Which jobs seem like they should qualify for the professional exemption, but don’t
• What “work requiring advanced knowledge” really means, in plain English, and what constitutes a “learned profession”
• How to review your professional job classifications and descriptions for red flags that could mean overtime exemption problems
• The safest ways to fix professional exemption classification errors - without triggering DOL audits and employee claims

Workers can be classified as exempt from overtime if they fall under four exemptions. The professional exemption, covered in depth in this audio conference, is one of the four. Don’t miss these audio conferences from BLR that will provide additional in-depth guidance on the other three exemptions:

• July 10 - The Administrative Exemption (on CD)
• July 24 - The Executive Exemption (on CD)
• July 31 - The Outside Sales Exemption (on CD)

Steven M. Gutierrez, Esq., is a partner in the Denver office of Holland & Hart, the largest law firm in the U.S. Rocky Mountains region. He chairs the firm’s labor and employment practice group. Gutierrez advises his clients nationwide on all aspects of employment law, ranging from wage-hour issues and FLSA compliance to employment relationships and litigation. He speaks frequently on employment litigation defense strategies, fair employment issues, and other employment law subjects. He earned his law degree from the University of Denver.

Thomas E.J. Hazard, Esq., is a partner in the Denver office of law firm of Holland & Hart. He regularly defends employers in litigation and regulatory hearings on wage and hour matters, employee benefits and compensation cases, and other workplace claims. Also, he counsels employers on day-to-day workplace issues, and he lectures frequently on labor and employment matters. He earned his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.

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