An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 6 – Wage And Hour Laws

events that are religious in nature and are separate from school activities. For example, the fact that a school’s open house is held in the parish hall will not convert that event into a religious activity. D. M INISTERIAL E XCEPTION A ND P ARSONAGE Persons who are ministers and other members of the clergy are not covered by wage laws because of the ministerial exception. The ministerial exception arises out of the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and is based on the principle that courts cannot review certain employment actions taken by religious organizations or entities without excessive entanglement with religion. 503 Although no California cases directly address the application of the ministerial exception to state wage and hour requirements, California courts have applied the ministerial exception to other laws, and federal courts have applied it to bar wage claims. 504 For example, in Alcazar v. Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle 505 , two seminarians who were working as part of a ministry training program were not permitted to sue for overtime wages under the State of Washington’s Minimum Wage Act. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the claims were prohibited by the ministerial exception as the seminarians were employed by a religious institution, were chosen for the position based largely on religious criteria, and performed religious duties and responsibilities. For more information regarding the Ministerial Exception, see Chapter 7, Section 4 (the ministerial exception to Title VII and the FEHA) of this Guide. LCW Practice Advisor Schools are strongly encouraged to consult with an attorney about whether employees who work in the school qualify for the ministerial exception, as the determination of who is a “minister” for purposes of the exception can be complicated.

O VERTIME E XEMPTIONS

Section 3

A. G ENERALLY Federal and California wage laws relating to the payment of overtime do not apply to overtime- exempt employees. Overtime exempt employees include those who are primarily “engaged in” administrative, executive or professional capacities. Exempt employees not only lose the laws’ overtime protections, but they also lose protections relating to the minimum wage, reporting time pay, furnishing of uniforms and meal and rest periods. Exempt employees are still subject to certain recordkeeping provisions.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 153