Sherwin Williams Assistant Managers: Unpaid Overtime?

“Assistant managers” are among the employees who are commonly misclassified as workers who are not eligible for overtime wages and are therefore denied their right to time-and-a-half pay. Essentially, an employer will give an employee the title of “assistant manager,” even though they perform mostly non-managerial duties, and claim that they are “executives,” and therefore ineligible for overtime pay.

Assistant Managers: Employee Misclassification

When determining whether an assistant manager is entitled to overtime pay, their job duties must be examined, as eligibility for overtime pay is never determined by an employee’s job title. In general, an assistant manager will be entitled to overtime pay if their main job duties include the following:

• Answering phone calls
• Stocking shelves
• Operating cash registers
• Performing janitorial duties
• Assisting customers

If an assistant manager performs these or similar job duties and is not paid for their overtime hours, their employer may be in violation of overtime law. An assistant manager can only be denied overtime pay when they make a salary of at least $455 per week; manage the company or one of its departments; regularly direct at least two full-time employees; and have the ability to hire and fire other employees.

Unpaid Overtime Lawsuits for Assistant Managers

Assistant managers who were wrongfully denied overtime wages may be able to participate in an overtime lawsuit to seek compensation for damages. Potentially, in an unpaid overtime lawsuit, employees misclassified as assistant managers may be able to seek compensation for up to three years of unpaid overtime, as well as an equal amount in liquidated damages. In other words, if the misclassified assistant manager recovers $4000 in unpaid overtime wages, they may be entitled to an additional $4000 in liquidated damages, bringing their total recovery to $8000.

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