Non-Exempt Employees

Term Definition
Non-exempt employees are paid on an hourly basis and must receive overtime compensation or compensatory time off for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per work week.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was designed to protect and maintain fair and just working conditions. FLSA includes provision on minimum wage and overtime. The government may inspect or investigate a company to determine whether it is in compliance with the FLSA.

Work time is also called compensable time. Employers are required to document a non-exempt employee's work time. Work time includes regularly scheduled work hours, overtime, training time, shift preparation/transition time and certain types of travel time. Overtime is time worked that exceeds the employee's normally scheduled  workweek. For example, if a full time employee scheduled to work 40 hours per week, works 50 hours per week, they have worked 10 hours of overtime.

The exemptions provided by FLSA Section 13(a)(1) apply only to “white collar” employees who meet the salary and duty tests set forth in the Part 541 regulations.  The exemptions do not apply to manual laborers or other “blue collar” workers who perform work involving repetitive operations with their hands, physical skill and energy.  FLSA-covered, non-management employees in production, maintenance, construction and similar occupations such as carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, iron workers, craftsmen, operating engineers, longshoremen, construction workers and laborers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime premium pay under the FLSA, and are not exempt under the Part 541 regulations, no matter how highly paid they might be.

The exemptions also do not apply to police officers, detectives, deputy sheriffs, state troopers, highway patrol officers, investigators, inspectors, correctional officers, parole or probation officers, park rangers, fire fighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, ambulance personnel, rescue workers, hazardous materials workers and similar employees, regardless of rank or pay level, who perform work such as preventing, controlling or extinguishing fires of any type; rescuing fire, crime or accident victims; preventing or detecting crimes; conducting investigations or inspections for violations of law; performing surveillance; pursuing, restraining and apprehending suspects; detaining or supervising suspected and convicted criminals, including those on probation or parole; interviewing witnesses; interrogating and fingerprinting suspects; preparing investigative reports; or other similar work.

Area of Application
Workforce Management

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