Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employees

Key point 8-17. The Fair Labor Standards Act mandates that employers pay the minimum wage, and overtime compensation, to employees who work for an enterprise engaged in commerce. There is no exception for religious organizations, but there are exceptions for certain classifications of employees.

* A federal court in Maryland addressed the question of whether a secretary is entitled to overtime compensation for hours worked in excess of 40 during the same work week. A former secretary (the "plaintiff") of a charitable organization sued the charity for failing to pay her overtime compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In general, the FLSA requires employers to pay compensation at a rate of one and half times a non-exempt employee's regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in the same week. The plaintiff worked for the charity from 1982 until 2005, holding ...