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What is a "Bona Fide Professional" Under Overtime Law?

The FLSA and Massachusetts law exempt "bona fide professionals" from the overtime pay requirements.  To qualify for this exemption:

• The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge. This is defined as work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment.
• The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning.
• The advanced knowledge must be usually acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

Examples of exempt professionals include lawyers, doctors, dentists, teachers, architects and clergy. There are certain categories where some are exempt and some are not, depending upon the employee’s level of education. For example, engineers with an engineering degree would be considered exempt. Another person with the title engineer but not the degree would probably not. Similarly, registered nurses and nurse practitioners are generally exempt but LPNs are not. 


Learn more here about overtime exemptions under Massachusetts and federal law.

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