Dear ReWorker,
A newly-hired manager is telling salaried employees that they have to work 45 hours a week, take designated lunch breaks and set daily hours. If employees miss time, they have to make it up. Does this make all employees non-exempt?
In the past, being salaried/exempt meant employees had flexibility. As long as they put in over 40 hours per week, the timing of their daily arrivals and departures didn't matter. Aren't salaried employees paid for the job, rather the hours? Employees are coming to me, an HR manager, with their concerns, but the manager won't budge. What should I do?
Sincerely,
Counting the Hours
___________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Counting,
First thing's first, your new manager may be a horrible manager, but she's not acting illegally. Exemption has to do with pay, so she's within her right to ask employees to come and go according to a firm schedule.
The Fair Labor Standards act details who is exempt and who is non-exempt. According to that law, in order to be exempt, an employee must earn a minimum salary of $455 per week (unless your state law requires a higher amount), and meet a "duties test." While this duties test is complex and often the subject of lawsuits, there are a couple of quick guidelines that can help send you down the right path.
If an employee does any of the following, she could meet the duties test:
- Manages two or more people and performs mostly managerial work.
- Manages a function.
- Is an educated professional who works independently.
- Is an "Outside Salesperson."
Beyond understanding which employees are exempt, it's also important to grasp from what they are exempt. The answer? Overtime pay, and only that. Exempt employees are not eligible for extra income depending on how much they work, and must earn the same amount every pay period. In other words, if Jane, an exempt worker, puts in 30 hours this week and 60 hours the next week, she still gets the exact same paycheck.
Breaking Down the Law
What the law doesn't address is how you manage an exempt employee. Therefore, your manager is legally correct in that she can require employees to work set hours, take breaks at certain times and make up any time away from the office.
In some businesses this approach makes sense. A grocery store manager is (generally) an exempt employee, but you always need a manager on duty, so someone in her role should work specific hours and eat lunch at a specific time. Other companies or roles may allow for greater flexibility, but that has nothing to do with exemption in the legal sense.
Ultimately, the manager gets to choose how she manages but you, as the HR manager, you can advise her. Sit her down and say: "Several employees have come to me and complained about the new rules you've created regarding attendance and breaks. Can you tell me what problem you are trying to solve?"
Bringing the issue up in the form of this question works well because it leaves open the possibility that there really is a problem. For example, perhaps the last manager's lax attitude hurt performance and the department really needed some strict rules to get it back on track. But, it's also quite possible that the manager is just using the same tactics that have been used on her elsewhere in the past. If that's the case, enlighten her and say: "We've always let our professional staff have some flexibility, as long as they get their work done. We've found it to be extremely helpful for employee engagement."
If the manager refuses to budge or has good reasons for managing this way, then you can only continue to coach her and make suggestions. You can also escalate the issue to her boss, but ultimately, she isn't breaking any laws.
Sincerely,
Your ReWorker
Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady
Photo:Creative Commons
Ressources similaires
Vous souhaitez continuer à apprendre ? Découvrez nos produits, les témoignages de nos clients et les actualités du secteur.
Billet de blog
10 conseils pour des entretiens reguliers efficaces
Organiser des entretiens réguliers avec chaque collaborateur est un prérequis à une gestion d'équipe efficace. Pourtant, si elles manquent de préparation ou d'angle, ces réunions individuelles s'apparentent souvent à un supplice pour les collaborateurs. Les responsables doivent les considérer comme de véritables opportunités, au-delà de la simple formalité. Pour les optimiser, ils doivent s'y préparer, établir un ordre du jour clair et écouter attentivement les préoccupations et commentaires des collaborateurs.
Témoignage de client
La planification et le partenariat simplifient la gestion des talents pour la marque de produits pour animaux de compagnie la plus populaire de Nouvelle-Zélande
Animates and Animates Vetcare, la marque de produits pour animaux de compagnie la plus populaire de Nouvelle-Zélande et l'entreprise leader dans ce domaine, est présente sur le marché depuis plus de 20 ans. Elle a développé ses activités et gère désormais 45 magasins, 28 salons de toilettage et près de 20 cliniques vétérinaires. Elle emploie plus de 900 personnes, dont des vétérinaires, des toiletteurs et des détaillants spécialisés à temps plein et à temps partiel. Animates continue de croître à un rythme soutenu, malgré les difficultés économiques, en aidant les propriétaires d'animaux de compagnie à faire ce qu'il y a de mieux pour leurs compagnons et leur porte-monnaie. Les ressources humaines de Animates, y compris le processus de recrutement et L&D, n'étaient pas en mesure de suivre le rythme de croissance de l'entreprise.
Billet de blog
Améliorer l'environnement de travail : quand la technologie RH redéfinit la culture d'entreprise
Constamment confrontés à l'évolution rapide des tendances, nous savons le rôle vital que jouent la culture d'entreprise et la technologie dans la création d'un environnement de travail agréable, sain et productif. Si nous sommes tous tournés vers l'avenir, nos responsables RH sont, eux, à l'avant-garde de la gestion des talents. Ils connaissent mieux que quiconque le paysage changeant du travail et l'impact transformateur des technologies. Partant des enseignements que nous livrent notre Index de la Gestion des Talents et le rapport Prédictions RH 2024 Réinventer le travail pour un monde nouveau, voyons comment les technologies RH changent la donne et révolutionnent nos modes de travail.