Shedding light on administrative exemptions
Provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can be difficult to interpret, even for human resources professionals. What might seem like simple guidelines for exemptions are often complicated. For instance, the Department of Labor considers certain sales staff, administrative workers, professionals and executives exempt from the FLSA, which means employers do not necessarily have to pay them time-and-a-half for their time and attendance exceeding 40 hours in a single week.
But it's not always that straightforward, and confusion about who qualifies for these exemptions can end up costing employers thousands or even millions of dollars if they're found in violation of labor laws. The FLSA establishes that workers' primary job duties must include office work, not manual labor, that contributes to the company's primary operations.
A recent article by Ann Bowden-Hollis for The Journal of South Mississippi Business explains this in more explicit terms - job titles mean nothing. That is, employers cannot call their staff members 'administrative assistants' and pay them a salary without overtime for extra work and remain in compliance if they regularly require those workers to organize stock rooms, file paperwork and clean waiting rooms.
To avoid violations, many employers outsource their human resources responsibilities and payroll processing duties to external professionals who are familiar with the intricacies of the laws.
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