FLSA Analysis

Misclassifying a position under the FLSA is one of the most expensive mistakes an agency can make: back overtime, penalties, and the awkward conversation with a long-tenured employee who was exempt on paper but never should have been. The determination itself is genuinely hard. It depends on duties tests, salary thresholds that differ by state and change over time, and public-sector provisions that generic guidance ignores.

The FLSA Analysis reviews a spec's duties and responsibilities against the FLSA exemption criteria and assesses whether the position is likely exempt or non-exempt. It identifies which exemption type applies, such as executive, administrative, professional, computer, outside sales, or highly compensated employee, and flags positions that don't clearly meet any exemption for review. The analysis knows it's evaluating a local government position and applies current thresholds rather than relying on outdated figures.

FLSA exemption isn't only federal. Several states set higher salary thresholds or stricter duties tests, and a position that passes the federal test can still fail the state one. For specs in California, Washington, New York, Colorado, Alaska, and Maine, the single-spec analysis applies that state's exemption standards alongside the federal criteria and separates the two in its output, so you can see exactly which framework each finding comes from. For specs in other states, the analysis notes that federal standards apply and evaluates against those.

Auditing Exemption Status Across Your Catalog

Exemption determinations made years ago drift out of date as duties evolve and thresholds rise. Run the bulk report to get a likely-exempt or likely-non-exempt read on every classification at once, then focus review on the specs flagged Needs Review.

Documenting a Determination for One Position

An employee questions their exempt status, or a reclassification puts a position near the line. Run the single-spec analysis to get a written assessment with legal citations you can include in the position's file alongside your own determination.

Rechecking Borderline Positions After a Threshold Change

State salary thresholds rise on a schedule, and positions that were comfortably exempt can drop below the line. When your state's threshold updates, rerun the single-spec analysis on positions near the old threshold.

The single-spec analysis appears in the floating analysis window and works through the exemption determination the way an analyst would: the applicable salary test, the duties test for the relevant exemption type, and a concluding assessment. Findings include inline citations to the specific regulations they rest on, which is what makes the output usable as supporting documentation.

For specs in states with their own exemption standards, federal and state analyses are presented separately, so a position that's exempt federally but non-exempt under state law is flagged as exactly that rather than averaged into an unclear middle.

The bulk report assigns each spec one of four statuses:

Hover over a result to see Holly's reasoning.

Use the filter controls above the bulk results table:

A practical sequence: filter to Needs Review to build the list requiring individual analysis, then filter Likely Exempt by exemption type to spot-check whether the identified exemptions match your existing designations.