Should you be paid salary or are you an hourly employee?

This question frequently comes up when a company brings someone on board and declares they are salary and will be paid a set amount regardless of how much time is worked. This more often than not works out in favor of the employer as the employee may put in hours and hours of time over forty hours a week, but is compensated at the set, flat rate.

The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates employer-employee relations in regard to overtime pay and minimum wage. Some examples of occupations exempt from these regulations include:

Executive, administrative, and professional employees (including teachers and academic administrative personnel in elementary and secondary schools), outside sales employees, and employees in certain computer-related occupations (as defined in Department of Labor regulations);

Employees of certain seasonal amusement or recreational establishments, employees of certain small newspapers, seamen employed on foreign vessels, employees engaged in fishing operations, and employees engaged in newspaper delivery;

Farm workers employed by anyone who used no more than 500 "man-days" of farm labor in any calendar quarter of the preceding calendar year;

Casual babysitters and persons employed as companions to the elderly or infirm.

Certain commissioned employees of retail or service establishments; auto, truck, trailer, farm implement, boat, or aircraft sales-workers; or parts-clerks and mechanics servicing autos, trucks, or farm implements, who are employed by non-manufacturing establishments primarily engaged in selling these items to ultimate purchasers;

Employees of railroads and air carriers, taxi drivers, certain employees of motor carriers, seamen on American vessels, and local delivery employees paid on approved trip rate plans;
Announcers, news editors, and chief engineers of certain non-metropolitan broadcasting stations;

Domestic service workers living in the employer's residence;

Employees of motion picture theaters; and
Farm workers.

If you believe that you are being paid a salary, but should be paid hourly based upon the nature of your work, call an attorney to discuss your rights and what violations in which your employer may be engaged.