Wednesday, September 18, 2013

What Makes an Exempt Employee, Exempt?



An exempt employee is an employee that is exempt from both minimum wage and overtime pay. In order to qualify as an exempt employee, the FLSA has created regulations for both the job duties and weekly salary amounts that must be met.  An exempt employee cannot be deemed exempt based on their job title; it must be based on the duties of their position.  There are several types of exempt employee categories that the employee’s job duties may fall under:  executive, administrative, professional, computer and outside sales employees. 

In addition to the job duties, the employees must meet certain salary requirements. The employee must be paid a salary of no less than $455.00 per week or an hourly rate of $27.63, but these salary requirements do not apply to outside sales employees, teachers or doctors.  They must also be paid for the entire salary for any week in which the employee performs any work.  This is regardless of how many days or hours are worked.   There are only a couple circumstances in which an employer may make a deduction from pay, but in order to do so, the employee must be absent from work for one or more full days for personal reason other than sickness or disability. 

The Department of Labor (DOL) has several tools and resources available to assist employers in making this determination.  For more facts on the different types of exempt employees and the salary requirements, visit the link below.  This DOL site also includes a test to help you decide if your employees meet the qualifications of “exempt.”

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