About brian warmuth Expertise I can answer just about any Human Resources related question. From employee disciplinary matters to general administrative issues, to performance evaluation and review, to EEO/AA, team building, training and development, you name it.
Experience Over 23 years in public and private sectors, in manufacturing and service industries, including banking, glass and steel manufacturing, to hospitals, to higher education. I've worked in unionized and non-union environments and negotiated union/management labor agreements.
Education/Credentials MS Industrial and Labor Relations
BA Psychology
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Followup To
Question -
As I understand it, non-exempt employees may receive overtime, while exempt employees cannot. However, what's the difference between a non-exempt salaried employee and an hourly employee? Also, would it be unusual for an employer to require non-exempt salaried employees to track and report hours worked per day?
Thanks,
Loren
Answer -
Loren:
The Federal, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the regulating law here. There is a two-part test for an employee to be considered exempt under the law. It consists of a duties test and a salary basis test. For simplicity - let's assume you meet the exemption test on a duties basis. As to the salary basis, the law states that to be paid on a salary basis an employee (generally) must be paid their full salary for all weeks in which they perform ANY work, regardless of the quantity or quality...so true salaried workers should not be required to fill out time cards, or punch-in to get paid their salary. So, if the employer is requiring all exempt level employees to, in essence report their daily hours of work...in my opinion, and without more information, that would be unusual! Good luck!
Brian
Brian,
Thanks for the fast response. It seems that my question may have not been very clear. I'm trying to find out about employees who are categorized as SALARIED but NON-EXEMPT. How are these NON-EXEMPT, SALARIED employees any different from an hourly employee and would it be unusual for an employer to require non-exempt, salaried employees to track and report hours worked per day?
Thanks for your help,
Loren
Answer Loren:
Being paid on a “salary basis” means an employee regularly receives a predetermined amount of compensation each pay period on a weekly, or less frequent, basis. The predetermined amount cannot be reduced because of variations in the quality or quantity of the employee's work. An exempt employee must receive the full salary for any workweek in which the employee performs any work, regardless of the number of days or hours worked. Exempt employees do not need to be paid for any workweek in which they perform no work. If the employer makes deductions from an employee's predetermined salary, i.e., because of the operating requirements of the business, that employee is not paid on a “salary basis.” If the employee is ready, willing and able to work, deductions may not be made for time when work is not available. In terms of making DEDUCTIONS from an exempt employees salary, the employer can now do this for full-days only -for instance, a disciplinary matter.
An hourly employee would be non-exempt but be paid only for the hours he/she worked - on a per day basis.
As you see, exemption and salary status are two different things, but things which can exist together in the same position. For instance, at my place of employment we have many salaried, non-exempt staff positions. Such as a departmental "Administrative Secretary." This person is paid on a salary basis, but because of the position's duties and salary level (ie., under $455 per week ($23,660 per year) they are non-exempt and eligible for overtime.
This can get fairly complicated so, in summary, I'll direct you to the DOL web site where you may read more about "exemption and non-exemption" and "salary basis" to your hearts content! Good luck and I hope this helps.
