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In this episode of #Worktrends, we are talking about how to steer clear of compliance pitfalls in today’s remote world. From the basics every leader should know, what to avoid, how to communicate clearly, and how to keep a close eye on employee wellbeing, this one’s loaded with real world tips any manager can put to use right away.
Meet Our Guest: Jaime Lizotte
We are thrilled to be joined by Jaime Lizotte, director of HR and tax products at ComplyRight, which provides cutting edge compliance products and programs for businesses. She is extremely passionate about HR and developing products to assist businesses with easing the process of compliance as well as overall product management.
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt
Let’s revisit the definition of exempt and non-exempt workers. Can you please explain how to differentiate them?
Absolutely. And the main difference really between exempt and non-exempt workers truly comes down to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act or also, we love acronyms, also called FLSA. And non-exempt employees, to start, they are entitled to at least the minimum wage and they must be paid overtime. And usually when it comes to overtime, that’s time and a half and that’s for any hours that are worked over 40 hours in a work week. Now on the other hand, exempt employees, they do not get overtime pay and they’re typically paid a salary and that would actually cover all the hours that they work that week, and that is regardless if they work over 40 hours.
Compliance With Exempt Workers’ Time and Pay
What basics should every leader know about time and pay for non-exempt employees?
There are a few non-negotiable leaders that you need to keep in mind when you’re categorizing your employees. And a few bullets I want to go over is all time worked must be tracked accurately and that does include breaks, overtime and even brief tasks that are done like checking emails after hours. Another area is non-exempt employees must be paid for every hour worked, and then overtime must be paid according to federal and state laws. Now, off-the-clock work, even if it seems voluntary, is not allowed. So you have to make sure that like I said before at the beginning, every hour has to be paid for. And then timekeeping systems, they need to be easy to access and reliable, especially when it comes to remote staff, because we know that’s a big part of our workforce nowadays.
Managing Exempt Employees
What are the pitfalls to avoid when managing exempt employees?
Even though exempt employees aren’t eligible for overtime, there are definitely still some risks you want to be aware of. And the first one is misclassification, which is actually a really big one. Just calling someone salaried, saying that they’re exempt, doesn’t automatically make them exempt because, like I mentioned right at the beginning, there is a job duties test that must legally qualify them as an exempt worker. So it has to do with the roles and their responsibilities in their role. Another risk area is avoiding deducting pay for partial day absences unless your policy aligns with legal guidelines. Now, doing this incorrectly can actually jeopardize their exempt status. So very important to make sure that you’re not doing that.
To learn more about compliance in the remote workplace
First, listen to today’s full podcast episode! And be sure to subscribe to the #WorkTrends Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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