Exempt Vs. Non Exempt Employees Whats The Difference

Exempt Vs. Non Exempt Employees Whats The Difference What is a Non-Exempt Employee?The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was enacted to ensure businesses and corporations could not take advantage of their employees. The FLSA establishes the minimum wage, overtime eligibility and child labor voreingestellts. These rules and regulations apply to both part-time and full-time employees.When an employee is considered non-exempt, it means they arent covered by FLSA standards and regulations. Most commonly, this applies to whether or not that individual can receive overtime pay for working mora than 40 hours a week.Those who are non-exempt from FLSA standards should receive one and a half times the regular rate for any hours worked over the standard 40 hours. However, any paid leave they take during the week will not apply to the traditional 40 hours of work. This means if you take a paid vacation day, but work extra on your other days, youll need to spend 40 hours working before you can sta rt receiving overtime.What Are the Pros to Being a Non-Exempt Employee?There are benefits and negatives to being a non-exempt employee.If youre non-exempt, you have the option of receiving overtime pay for additional hours spent on the job.Non-exempt employees also have more protection under the law.What Are the Cons to Being a Non-Exempt Employee?Most non-exempt employees do not work on salary. This means you may not have a clear idea of how much youre making week to week.Non-exempt hourly employees may also have their timemonitored more closely. Because the company needs to pay an additional wage for any additional hours you spend on the job due to the fair labor standard, your anfhrer may constantly check in to make sure youre productive every minute youre at work. Dealing with a micromanager can quickly become annoying and overwhelming.What is an Exempt Employee?When an employee is considered exempt, it means they are excluded from the specific rights created by the FLSA. Typica lly, an employee who is paid a salary instead of hourly pay will be considered exempt. A full-time exempt employee works at least 40 hours per week.An exempt employee must be paid an annual salary, so they cannot be paid an hourly wage. And their weekly income can be no less than $455 per week, according to Payscale. That said, just because an employee is paid asalary doesnt mean make they are an exempt employee.An exempt employee will receive overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week. Those who hold exempt positions typically have certain duties or responsibilities that cause them to be exempt, insinuating it is common or expected for those individuals to spend more than 40 hours each week working.There are a few ways an exempt employee may be considered as such. First, a specific employee job will be specifically stated as exempt under the FLSA. These include everything from white-collar positions to certain retail positions. Executives, professional employees, computer p rofessionals and sales employees are just a few of the positions considered to be exempt.The salary an individual makes will also determine whether or not they are exempt. Recently, the Department of Labor stated they were going toraise the minimum salary of exempt workers to be just over $50,000. Any employee making less than this amount would be considered non-exempt.So in short, to be clear The difference between exempt and nonexempt employees is that exempt positions are excluded from minimum wage, overtime regulations, and other rights and protections afforded nonexempt workers.What Are the Pros to Being an Exempt Employee?Exempt employees also have negatives and positives. If youre exempt, youHave a steady paycheck you know you can rely on.Exempt employees traditionally hold higher positions within the company.May also have a bit more freedom while at work. Because the company is going to pay the same amount no matter how many hours you spend working, your boss may pay less at tention if you take a longer lunch or youre chatting with your coworkers. This can give you some additional freedom at work to move along at your own pace.Exempt employees also typically earn larger salaries. This additional payment is designed to cover potential extra hours, job responsibilities and expectations within the office.What Are the Cons to Being an Exempt Employee?As an exempt employee, youre expected to come in early or stay later as necessary.Although you may have more authority in your company, your duties require you to work more hours.You cannot receive overtime for working more than 40 hours per week.What Are Some Common Positions for Exempt and Non-Exempt Employees?Typically, non-exempt employees includeFreelancersInternsSales Reps Who Work onCommissionnExempt employees are those who generally get paid a salary, such asTeachersNursesArchitectsThere is no situation that is better for all individuals. What works best for you will depend on your personal preferences and what youre looking for out of a job. WIll you want to qualify for overtime? Do you need more than the minimum wage to get by? Are you comfortable with tax-exempt position? Depending on your level of experience, income expectations and industry, you may not have a choice between selecting an exempt or non-exempt position. If thats the case, youll want to set a long-term goal of determining how you can transition between industries or find a more flexible position.If you have any questions about exempt vs non-exempt classification, dont hesitate to ask for clarification. (After all, this is what human resources departments are for) Understanding the expectations, pay structure and other details of any job whether it has non-exempt status or is non-manual work is important for ensuring you find the right fit and youre happy with the job you select. Dont ignore terms you dont understand because youre too embarrassed to ask what they mean.When you do the appropriate research and fu lly understand the position, you can find the right career youre truly happy with and one that meets your payment expectations.--Sarah Landrum is an expert career blogger and the founder of Punched Clocks, a career and lifestyle blog helping professionals create a career they love and live a happy, healthy life. For more from Sarah, follow her on social media and subscribe to her newsletter.