November 4, 2005

U.S. Department of Labor Opinion on Social Workers & Caseworkers as FLSA-Exempt Employees

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued this redacted opinion on whether child welfare caseworkers qualify as learned professionals exempt from overtime pay and other protections provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA). DOL stated that in general, the learned professionals exemption is limited to those employees performing work requiring advanced knowledge in a specific, specialized field of intellectual instruction, and that the work must be predominantly intellectual in character and require consistent exercise of discretion and judgment. Social Workers with master's degrees who work in the field of their degree, will generally meet the criteria. However, a caseworker with a bachelor's degree in the social sciences or a related field of study will not qualify as a learned professional exempt from FSLA protection because specialized academic training is not a standard prerequisite for their employment