Re: Hourly vs Salaried

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On 8/03/07, Michael wrote:
> I was recently hired as a salaried employee. I began the
> job, with the stated office hours of 8:30 to 5:00. I
> arrived at work between 8:15 and 9:00 and worked till 5:00
> to 7:00 every day. One day I was done with the immediate
> work I had to do and told the secretary I was leaving
> early, about 4:30. The next day the owner spoke to me when
> I arrived at 9:00 saying "I thought we were clear on the
> hours." I need you here 8:30AM to 5PM. I know sometimes
> you work late and that's nice but not required. I was
> thinking that he doesn't know what salaried vs hourly
> means and he SHOULD have hired me as an hourly employee.
> So time went on and one day I came in late, about 9AM. He
> gave me a verbal reprimand, to which I apologized and
> decided just to treat the job as hourly, as that was what
> he was expecting. The next day I was told to take a job
> home and complete it over the weekend. Now I KNOW he
> doesn't know what salaried vs hourly is. I have to work
> 8:30AM to 5PM period. (That's a time figure, not a task
> related figure.) AND I have to work whatever other hours I
> am asked. Isn't this illegal? It's one or the other,
> right? Either you do the job, or you do the hours. An
> employer can't ask you to stick to hours when it suits
> him, disallowing you the advantages of salaried
> employement where you are not so constrained by the time
> as much as the task, and then treat you like a salaried
> employee when it suits him, disallowing you the advantage
> of hourly such as overtime, right?

"Hourly" and "salaried" are simply pay methods. Whether you
are entitled to be paid overtime depends on whether your job
is exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Whether you are exempt or non-exempt has no impact on the
hours you are required to work and your manager holding you
accountable for arriving at work on time. If your start
time is 8:30am, you need to be there at 8:30am, not 9:00.
Being an exempt/salaried employee does not mean you get to
come in when you feel like it. Same goes if you are non-
exempt/hourly paid.

Your FLSA status has ONLY to do with whether you must be
paid for any overtime you work. It has nothing to do with
your employer holding you accountable for being at work on
time.