Exempt vs Non-Exempt

[Philly526]

After a merger with another company, employees performing the same job were combined into one organization, under one director, with th same title. This position in my company was salaried, with a compensation plan. The same position in the other company was hourly, with no comp plan, but with overtime paid at time and a half. We were told that all employees would become salaried and eligible for the comp plan payments effective 1/1/2005; however, the hourly employees were never changed to salaried and are being paid overtime in addition to receiving comp plan payouts.

So within one manager's organization, there are people doing the same job, cross-training each other, etc., some getting OT and comp, some getting only the comp.

Is this leagal?

 

[cbg]

Quite frankly, yes, as long as the job actually qualifies as an exempt position.

Under the law, ANY employee can legally be non-exempt. They can classify the CEO as non-exempt if they want to and are willing to pay the overtime. But only positions that meet the qualifications set out under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the more recent Fair Pay Act can be considered exempt.

While it is not particularly common, it is not unheard of, either, to have the same position be both exempt and non-exempt within the same organization, particularly in the circumstances you describe. I'm not saying it's always fair, and they should certainly do something about it eventually, but I have been through many a merger and can tell you for certain that the dates that an employer claims some action will be taken may very well be changed many times before the action actually is accomplished.

What does your HR department say about this matter? Have you asked them?

 

[Philly526]

Reply to cbg

Thanks for the respponse, cbg. Yes, I have asked HR and they say they are reevaluating my job function to determine if it is exempt or non-exempt. They issued a survey this past week asking us how many hours a month we work, # of days we take lunch breaks etc.

HR never addressed the fact that some of us are getting paid hourly and getting comp payments, while some work the same or more hours with only comp payments and no OT. I also asked my manager, who asked his manager. Of course, no one will put anything definitive in writing.

My concern isn't necessarily the classification of the job, it's the fact that they added the comp plan payouts to the group already being paid as non-exempt, which is obviously a conscious decision to change, not attrition.