There are many different types of jobs that people have in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The hours, job requirements, pay and other factors vary. However, there is one thing that all jobs have in common and that is that people rely on them to earn an income and support themselves and their families. To ensure that this happens there are certain laws in place that set minimum wage and require overtime pay for many employees. These are laws are under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
While these laws require employers to pay employees at least minimum wage and time and a half for all hours worked over 40 hours per week, they do not apply to all employees. There are many employees who are exempt from the regulations.
- Executive exemption – this is for salaried employees earning at least $684 per week who manage other employees, oversee either the whole company or portions of it and have the ability to hire and fire other employees.
- Administrative exemption – These employees also must be salaried and work for management of the company. They also must be able to exercise independent discretion.
- Professional exemption – this is for salaried employees who generally have an advanced degree or education in a certain field and perform work related to that education.
- Computer employees – these are salaried employees who work in computer system analysis, programming, software engineer or other computer fields.
- Outside sales – these employees must be involved in sales, be paid by the client or customer and also work primarily away from the company’s office.
If the employees fall into the exemptions there are still minimum income requirements, but it is not based on the number of hours they work. They will not be paid extra when they work more than 40 hours a week.
There are many employees in Pennsylvania who fall into these exemptions, but most employees are still governed by FLSA requirements. However, not all employers follow these laws or may try to improperly classify an employee as an exempt employee or an independent contractor. If they do not follow these laws, they may be required to compensate the employees by paying them what they rightfully earned. These are important matters and consulting with experienced attorneys could be beneficial.