Often yes, social workers are owed overtime. A salary and a social work degree do not, by themselves, make you exempt from overtime. If your days are spent on caseloads, home visits, paperwork and following agency rules, you may be owed time-and-a-half for every hour over 40.
An employer that calls you “exempt” generally has to prove all three:
Passing the first two is common. The duties test is where most social work jobs fall short.
Being paid a salary does not end the question. Federal rules say an employer must also show that your main job fits an exemption. For social workers, employers usually point to one of two.
This exemption covers work “requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.” The Labor Department’s Fact Sheet #17D says it applies where “specialized academic training is a standard prerequisite for entrance into the profession,” and not to jobs where people mostly learn by experience.
Here is the honest picture. A licensed clinical social worker hired to diagnose and provide therapy, where the license and the MSW are required for the job, is the kind of position this exemption was written for. Many other social work jobs are different. If the posting accepts “a bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, sociology or a related field,” the employer is not requiring one particular degree. The regulation says the exemption does not reach jobs that can be done “with only the general knowledge acquired by an academic degree in any field.” And holding an MSW does not help if your actual work is scheduling, tracking and documenting rather than using that advanced training. See the learned professional exemption for the full analysis.
This one requires office work “directly related to the management or general business operations” of the employer, plus a primary duty that includes “the exercise of discretion and independent judgment” on matters of significance. The rules say that means more than “applying well-established techniques, procedures or specific standards described in manuals or other sources.” Carrying out agency policy, service plans and eligibility rules is usually delivering the agency’s service, not running the agency. See the administrative exemption.
Courts look at what you actually do, not your title or your degree.
We represent salaried social workers, case managers and care coordinators at nonprofit and private agencies, health plans and human-services providers nationwide. If you are labeled exempt and routinely work nights and weekends to keep up with documentation and visits, those hours may count. Related pages: case managers, care coordinators, utilization review, child welfare caseworkers, service coordinators and nonprofit case managers.
No Texas statute requires a private employer to pay overtime, so for a Texas social worker this is a federal claim under the FLSA. A colleague doing the same job in another state may also have a state wage claim with its own limitations period and damages. The federal remedy is the unpaid overtime premium plus an equal additional amount as liquidated damages, with the employer paying your attorney’s fees and costs if you prevail. The period reaches two years back from the date of filing, or three years if the violation was willful; see how far back an overtime claim reaches.
Not automatically. The degree matters only if the job actually requires that advanced training and your main work uses it. Plenty of MSW holders do case management, intake or coordination that does not require the degree, and those jobs can be non-exempt.
It depends on the job. If you were hired to provide clinical therapy under your license, the professional exemption may apply. If you are an LCSW doing case management, utilization review or care coordination that does not require the license, you may be owed overtime.
No. There is no blanket exemption for social workers. Each job is judged by its salary and its actual duties.
No. Keeping track helps, but the employer is the one required to keep records. Your best memory of your hours, emails, phone logs and system log-ins can be used to show the time you worked.
Federal law prohibits retaliation against employees who complain about unpaid wages or take part in an overtime claim.
We represent employees only. Jack Siegel has filed cases in 25 federal districts across 20 states and obtained 50+ class and collective certifications in 19 federal judicial districts across 14 states, as lead counsel on the firm’s cases. The firm has recovered more than $100 million for workers.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. These are results in other people’s cases. Each case is decided on its own facts, its own record and its own procedural posture. Conditional certification and class certification are procedural rulings about whether a case may proceed as a group action; they are not findings of liability and they are not an award of money. This website contains attorney advertising.
Told you are a “professional” in a job that does not require a particular degree? Send us the posting and your pay records for a free review. You pay no fee and no costs unless we recover. Call or text (214) 790-4454, email [email protected], or reach us through our contact page.
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