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Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore


Assistant Managers

Assistant manager image

Promotion to assistant manager can be exciting for an hourly employee. That employee may feel like they are climbing the ladder in their company. However, once they receive the promotion, they may discover their job responsibilities have not changed, and they are no longer eligible for overtime pay. Unfortunately, many companies make this “promotion” exactly for this reason, and it’s against the law.

Connecticut Assistant Manager Lawyer

If you have been wrongfully deprived of overtime pay due to an in-title-only promotion to assistant manager in your company, our Hartford assistant manager lawyers at Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore can help you recover the wages that you earned. We are experienced employment attorneys who fight to uphold the law for employees who have been cheated of their overtime pay. Fill out our online form today so that we can review your case.

We are based in Harford, and proudly represent assistant managers throughout Connecticut, including Bridgeport, Milford, New Haven and Stamford.

Exemption under Wage and Hour Laws in Connecticut

Under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Connecticut Minimum Wage Act employees must be paid at least the minimum wage for all hours worked, and receive overtime pay of at least time-and-a-half for any time worked over 40 hours. However, some employees are exempt from those regulations if their job duties fall under an exemption.

Employers usually claim that Assistant Managers fall under the executive exemption. To qualify as an executive, the employee must:

  • Be paid on a salary basis at least $475 per week;

  • Have a primary duty of managing the enterprise, or manage a subdivision or department of the enterprise;

  • Supervise at least two full-time employees, or their equivalent;

  • Have the authority to hire and fire employees, or have particular weight in recommending employees for hire, termination, promotion or other employment decisions.

Misclassification of Assistant Managers in Hartford

An employer may bestow a title of “assistant manager” on an employee, and may even give that employee a salary above what they would make working 40 hours per week at minimum wage. However, in doing so, they may claim the person is an “executive,” and is, therefore, exempt. That employee may no longer be paid hourly or be eligible for overtime.

An employer may do this without truly changing the job responsibilities of the employee. For instance, in a retail setting, the employee may be called an assistant manager of a department. However, that employee is still responsible for stocking shelves, processing shipments, or even for a sales quota. The employee does not make any real management decisions, and may not supervise anyone.

However, the employee now must work long hours, many times more than 40 per week.

The employer may do this because it is ultimately cheaper for them to “elevate” an employee and pay a salary than pay that employee overtime for the time he or she would work. In these circumstances, what matters are duties — not titles.

Recovering Back Pay in Hartford

If you are an Assistant Manager who has been misclassified as an executive then you may have been deprived of overtime pay for every hour you’ve worked over 40 hours per week. You are owed that money under law and may seek recourse in the legal system with the help of a Connecticut wage and hour lawyer.

If you have been terminated, your right to that money did not disappear. You are still owed back pay.

Among the employers who we believe are not paying overtime to their Assistant Managers are:

  • Kohls Department Store

  • Goodwill Industries

Connecticut Employment Attorney for Assistant Managers

If you were promoted to assistant manager without any of the real responsibilities that should come with the position and denied overtime pay, the Hartford assistant manager lawyers at Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore can fight for you. We’ll seek to recover what you’re owed. Fill out our online form today so that we can review the details of your situation.