Expert: Ed McFarland - 10/26/2006

Question
I was wondering if you could give me the difination between salary wages and Hourly wages. For Example#1: If and employee is salary can they be docked for any hours missed in a 40 hours work week. Example #2 If a Hourly employee can be docked for any hours missed in a 40 hours work week and if so can this hourly if the employer lets the employee make up the hours. Also as a salary employee are you in titled to overtime or is this just for the hourly employees.

Answer
This is what is called exempt and non-exempt employees. Non-exempt are paid a hourly wage with overtime after 40 hours. If employee misses time, and the employer is willing, the time could be made up. I did that once when a blizzard closed the shop, we let the hourly employees come in on a Saturday to make up the time or use a vacation day.

Exempt, salary employees, are paid for the work they do. They are not on the clock the way a hourly employee is. That means no overtime. But in the case of the blizzard, they didn't have to come in on that Saturday.

There are specific rules about this, check either the US Department of Labor or local state's office for exact details.

Good luck.