QUESTION
Exempt employees working Holidays
Asked on May 22nd, 2014 on Labor and Employment - Georgia
More details to this question:
I'm an exempt employee that works 40 hours a week and off on the holidays. I get a certain amount of hours taken out for Holiday time off biweekly. I get all major Holidays off which includes : New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The issue that I have is that my supervisor is trying to make me work holidays. He also suggested that we can clock on the Holiday to get paid for it. Is this fair since I have a certain amount of hours taking out for Holidays? Is this violating any type of laws? Will we clocking in on the holiday jeopardize our exempt status?
1 ANSWER
Labor and Employment Attorney serving Atlanta, GA
2 Awards
While you say you are an exempt employee, that doesn't necessarily mean that you actually are exempt from the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). You must be salaried to fit within one of the FLSA's white collar exemptions; but not every person who is salaried is exempt. You must be paid on a genuinely salaried basis (meaning it is a set amount and not subject to fluctuations for missing time) of at least $445/week. In addition, your duties must fit within the very narrow definitions of "professional" "administrative" or "executive" employee for the exemption to apply to you. I would need to know a lot more about your employer and what you do in order to advise you.
Generally, if you are exempt, the employer can require you to work as many days as it wishes, including holidays, without additional pay. If it gives you additional pay for working holidays, this does not destroy your exempt status.
Michael A. Caldwell
404-979-3154
Answered on May 30th, 2014 at 4:09 PM