The Fair Labor Standards Act
As a general rule, the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) mandates that employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked. It also requires that employees receive overtime pay at time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. To be an exception to the general rule, or “exempt,” the employer must demonstrate that the employee falls into one of the exemptions as defined under the FLSA.
What Are “White Collar” Exemptions?
There are many different types of exemptions. One group is aptly named the “white collar” exemptions. These include the executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employee exemptions. True to its name, the white collar exemptions do not apply to manual laborers, police officers, paramedics, and other similar public safety personnel. Thus, these exemptions are generally reserved for characters from the hit TV show “Suits,” and not from “2 Broke Girls.”
This article won’t detail the specific requirements for each exemption, but generally speaking, an employer must demonstrate that the employee meets (1) a salary basis test and (2) a duties test.
via White Collar Exemptions and Why Job Descriptions are Essential, by Lonnie Giamela.
