# Exempt employees and work hours requirements **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 10, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428 "2011-05-10T19:28:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/1 "2011-05-10T19:28:22Z")
It’s my understanding that in the US (in Indiana) an “exempt” employee (non unionized) can be required to work whatever hours the employing company pleases. It is the understanding of several of my co-workers (who say they’ve been through a situation before at my workplace which, in the end, established their position as the correct one) that _if_ the employer specifies a number of hours the exempt employee must work, _then_ the employer must pay these employees more money when it requires them to work more than forty hours. I can’t find anything online to indicate that the latter is true, so I don’t believe it. But am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/2 "2011-05-10T20:00:50Z")
State laws vary and there rarely is one defined true answer. I’ve worked in H/R in Illinois and Maryland and in neither of those states is a minimum required hours a reason for overtime. Usually it’s used to base calculation of salary for budget purposes. What is the usual when it comes to wages/salaries is this: Unless there is something specifically prohibiting it, an employer can do whatever they want. This is why, for example, in Illinois an employer can require an exempt employee to be on call 24/7. There’s no law preventing it, so they can. The best way to get an answer to your specific example is to go to your state department of labor website. In this case it’d be [Indiana](http://www.in.gov/dol/) Then look for a section called “Wages and Hours” (in this case it’s on the menu at left) If you don’t find the answer there, shoot them an email. I found that state labor departments are fairly quick about giving you answers. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/3 "2011-05-10T20:49:07Z")
You should look up the definition of exempt employee. It’s not just a non-union employee. A lot of employers call employees exempt who are not. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/4 "2011-05-10T21:14:09Z")
I work in California, where my employer is about to pay out a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit around this sort of issue. The case revolved around IT employees who routinely worked in excess of 40 hours a week (including, but not limited to, being ‘on call’), but who were classified as Exempt and therefore did not receive overtime pay. It turns out that State of California law has more stringent requirements than Federal law regarding what kinds of jobs can be classified as exempt, and the company was not in compliance with State law. As a result, they were forced to essentially pay ‘back pay’ for overtime hours worked over a period of years by several hundreds (at least) of employees. Apparently this is a ‘trend’ in California over the last few years, with dozens of IT shops facing similar lawsuits. In fact, this is the second time that I have been the beneficiary of such a suit. It all comes down to what the specific job duties are and whether or not they meet the requirements to be exempt from certain wage and hour laws. The requirements vary from State to State, from Industry to Industry, and even from Job to Job in some cases. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/5 "2011-05-10T21:19:31Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > You should look up the definition of exempt employee. It’s not just a non-union employee. A lot of employers call employees exempt who are not. I wasn’t saying that exempt means non-union. I was clarifying that the exempt employees I’m talking about are also non-union. This, I figured, made a difference as to what rules apply concerning what hours their employers can require them to work. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/6 "2011-05-10T21:22:32Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > You should look up the definition of exempt employee. It’s not just a non-union employee. A lot of employers call employees exempt who are not. This is true, and many employers have no idea constitutes an exempt or non exempt employee. Some employers also completely flout the rules by changing employee titles or altering responsibilities which, again, just shows their ignorance, which wouldn’t help them in the slightest if their overtime records were audited. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/7 "2011-05-10T21:44:01Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I wasn’t saying that exempt means non-union. I was clarifying that the exempt employees I’m talking about are also non-union. This, I figured, made a difference as to what rules apply concerning what hours their employers can require them to work. If they are really “exempt” under both state and Federal law, they aren’t entitled to be paid overtime unless they have some sort of contract which provides otherwise. It is however possible, that your coworkers _mistakenly_ believe that they are exempt because their pay is quoted on a weekly or yearly basis rather than an hourly basis, but they are in fact hourly employees. Or the following situation could confuse them- If I am an exempt employee, I must receive my full pay for any week in which I perform work, no matter how few hours I work. My pay cannot be docked. My employer is still permitted to require me to work a specified number of hours and I can be fired for working fewer. I just can’t be docked. What happens if they work fewer than the required number of hours and don’t have leave time to cover it? Do they still get their full pay or are they docked for the missing hours? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/8 "2011-05-10T21:51:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Some employees are exempt from the overtime pay provisions, some from both the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions and some from the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Exemptions are narrowly construed against the employer asserting them. **Consequently, employers and employees should always closely check the exact terms and conditions of an exemption in light of the employee’s actual duties before assuming that the exemption might apply to the employee. The ultimate burden of supporting the actual application of an exemption rests on the employer.** > > Exemptions are typically applied on an individual workweek basis. Employees performing exempt and non-exempt duties in the same workweek are normally not exempt in that workweek. (Bolding mine.) [http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/screen75.asp](http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/screen75.asp) When it doubt, go to the source. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/9 "2011-05-11T04:15:28Z")
A lot of employeers classify employees exemp because they are on a “salary”. One definiton is a supervisor with hire, fire, and discipline duties. A supervisor who does not have all the duties probably will not be exempt. Most salaried people do not qualify. My son as an assistant store manager got a nice check after his former employeer was sued. ---
**Author:** ![PugDog23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@PugDog23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PugDog23)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/10 "2011-05-12T02:28:58Z")
Under Federal law, exempt employees DO NOT have to be compensated for working over 40 hours a week, regardless of “set hours.” However, if you do have set hours, this really raises a question in my mind as to whether you are truly exempt. Like other posters mentioned, there could be Indiana state laws that provide a different scheme giving exempt employees more rights. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employees-and-work-hours-requirements/581428/11 "2011-05-12T02:51:11Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I work in California, where my employer is about to pay out a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit around this sort of issue. > > The case revolved around IT employees who routinely worked in excess of 40 hours a week (including, but not limited to, being ‘on call’), but who were classified as Exempt and therefore did not receive overtime pay. It turns out that State of California law has more stringent requirements than Federal law regarding what kinds of jobs can be classified as exempt, and the company was not in compliance with State law. As a result, they were forced to essentially pay ‘back pay’ for overtime hours worked over a period of years by several hundreds (at least) of employees. Apparently this is a ‘trend’ in California over the last few years, with dozens of IT shops facing similar lawsuits. In fact, this is the second time that I have been the beneficiary of such a suit. That type of thing is pretty common in IT jobs. I am in one now that requires me to be on call 24/7 even on vacation. They walk a fine line though. I can leave the job at any reasonable time during a business day or say I am busy with something when they call and that I can’t help. The pay is the same either way. However, anyone that has too many excuses during times of business need will see it noted in some way on their performance reviews even if it isn’t overt and they will get rid of you for it. I don’t complain because it makes sense. The idea of exempt jobs is that they are paying for your time by the year and not by hour regardless of what is expected. There is supposed to be some give and take both ways. People who work in fields like tax preparation often have to work very long hours during tax season but fewer than average during the rest of the year. Not all jobs have a steady work load throughout the year and the expected hours for most salaried professionals is well over 40 hours week anyway.