Copyright ©
2001-2004, Ethan A. Winning, All Rights Reserved
(For a more complete discussion of the FLSA and the classification of employees, you might be interested in the book, "Labor Pains" which can be purchased online. Winning Associates, Inc. also provides consultations on classifying employees for an hourly fee.)
The Fair Labor Standards Act was enacted on June 25, 1938, and we seem to have had 65 years of misconceptions and misunderstanding about it ever since. The FLSA set the minimum wage (at 25 cents and hour), established the work week at 40 hours, ordered time and one-half for overtime, and dictated much needed changes in child labor laws. It did not mandate break or meal periods, nor did it force employers to give holidays or vacations to employees.
The FLSA set criteria for which employees would come under the Act and which would be exempt from the provisions, hence "nonexempt" and "exempt." Those who were not exempt received overtime for hours worked over 40 in a week. Generally...very generally...managers and supervisory personnel and outside sales people are exempt, while "clerical" employees and manual laborers are nonexempt. Unfortunately, those generalities cannot be relied on although they are by many employers.
There is a common misconception that an employee who is paid a salary (as opposed to hourly wages) is automatically exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and is not eligible for overtime. Even under the revisions of 2004, this is not true. The misconception emanates from what is called the "short test" for exemptions: There are "short" and "long" tests for exemptions
This article has been moved to the subscriber's section. The subject is also more closely examined in Labor Pains.
All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2004. E. A. Winning Associates.