The Department of Labor (DOL) recently confirmed that an exempt classification isn’t a must, even if an employer is able to check all the boxes for exemption under the FLSA.
Furthermore, in cases where an employee would prefer to be classified as exempt, an exempt status still isn’t required.
That’s because it’s up to employers, not employees, to decide whether someone will be considered exempt from the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the federal law, the DOL explained.
The agency provided its remarks in one of several new opinion letters. Here’s a recap of the January 5, 2026, guidance.
In Opinion Letter FLSA 2026-1, the DOL answered questions asked by an employee who worked as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) for a healthcare organization.
After an internal restructuring, the employer discontinued the LCSW’s supervisory position. In conjunction with that, it changed the individual’s status from exempt to nonexempt – that included moving her from salaried to hourly in regard to pay basis.
While no longer qualifying for the executive exemption, the worker believed the learned professional exemption should be applied.
After all, her core job duties involved doing clinical assessments and psychosocial evaluations, making treatment plans and so on – i.e., tasks that required advanced knowledge.
However, the DOL pointed out that because her employer had decided to start paying her on an hourly basis, the learned...
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