Writers for reality television shows are often classified as exempt and are thus forced to work long hours for little pay. According to a study commissioned by Writers Guild of America, West, 91 percent of reality TV writers do not receive overtime compensation, despite the fact that 88 percent work more than 40 hours per week.

In order to be qualified as exempt, employees must receive a consistent salary regardless of the number of hours worked. Short leaves of absence should not affect pay rates unless the employer has a paid leave policy. White collar exemptions include executive, administrative and professional employees who are given discretionary judgment. After applying an analysis to reality TV show writers, the WGAW found that 95 percent of respondents should be classified as non-exempt and paid on an hourly basis.

The study found that 59 percent of workers who filled out time cards reported they did not accurately reflect the time spent working. The higher the number of weekly hours, the less likely the timecards were to be accurate.

On average, reality writers worked 16 hours of unpaid overtime per week, according to the survey. Since the average weekly pay rate was between $2,000 and $2,500 per week, writers are losing at least $1,200 in overtime per week, based on the lower end of the pay spectrum.

Misclassification of workers as exempt leads to unpaid overtime pay. To correctly log employee time, employers should use attendance software.

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