Case Study 1

Jane has an issue at work. She is working in a position that is ruled exempt by her manager, Amy. Jane feels that she is doing jobs past her paygrade such as assistant manager, and deserves more money. Jane also performs associates duties well. Jane approached Amy, and asked her if she can receive an increase in pay, or get paid overtime for the numerous hours she put in at work. Amy refused, claiming the FLSA, and that Jane position puts her in exempt status for overtime. Exempt or nonexempt is what Jane is trying to figure out to determine is she gets overtime, or an increase in pay.

Keywords: position, assistant manager, associate duties, overtime, Federal Labor Standards Act

Jane has an issue at work. She feels that the job that she has worked at for 6 months as a shift leader are not paying her for the job she is performing. She has worked past the normal 40 hour work week all the time, and wants to know why she is not getting paid overtime. She approached the store owner, Amy and questioned her as to why she is not getting paid overtime. Amy told her that under the Fair Labor Standards Act, she is listed as exempt because of her position as a shift leader so she cannot pay her overtime. Jane accepts that she is indeed a shift leader, but she does more work beyond the duties of a shift leader. She also performs the duties as an assistant manager, associate duties, managerial decisions, etc.… Although Jane accepts that she is part of the management team, she is not happy with it. Jane wants to have a pay increase since she is not warranted overtime pay. Jane makes more money than the associates, but she is making way less money than an assistant manager makes. She feels that if she is paid for the jobs that she performs, then putting in extra hours would be no problem. The main focus of this paper is to determine why she is classified as exempt, does the Jones Department Store benefit from shift leaders being exempt, are the shift leaders labeled correctly, and what Amy should take into consideration when making the rule of labeling shift leaders exempt or nonexempt.

Classification of Shift Leaders

Amy classified the leaders as exempt because she felt that they fell under the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under FLSA any employee that works over 40 hours in a given 7 day stretch are rewarded with getting paid time and a half, this rule does not apply to employees that are in managerial positions (Martocchio, 2015). Jane is in a so called managerial position but is not getting paid for that position. Amy feels that since Jane is serving in an administrative role, then she cannot get paid overtime according to the FSLA. In order for Amy to understand Jane’s problem with her pay she should be more understanding, and respect what Jane is doing on the job as she strives for organizational goals, and accomplishing tasks assigned to her (Allen & Rogelberg, 2013). The Jones Department Store have a huge advantage by classifying their shift leaders as exempt. They save a lot of money because they can work them as much as they want, and not have to worry about paying overtime. That is why an employee needs to ensure that they understand the position that they are taking, and what they are classified as. Job descriptions are guidelines that a job position entails, it does not necessarily list all of the major responsibilities that come with the job an employee is applying for (Carliner, Castonguay, Sheepy, Ribeiro, Sabri, Saylor, & Valle, 2015). The Jones Department Store has the benefit of making a shift leader perform other roles besides their job description. This also saves them money because they do not have to pay the shift leader what they pay an assistant manager, although they perform the same job.

Proper Classification of Shift Leaders

The shift leaders are not properly classified as exempt. They do make decisions, but they are not a manager, or an assistant manager. They have a say in decision making, but they are not in that specific position to be labeled exempt. There are a lot of times when employees become a victim to wage, and hour violations amongst an array of other issues, but properly classifying them can result in organizations avoiding lawsuits for mistreatment of their employees (Groff, Pavlick, & Madden, 2015). Although they perform the job of an assistant manager, and associate duties at times, they are not in that actual position to be classified as exempt. If managers can follow the guidelines of the FSLA and the way it protect employees, there would not be bad pay wages, or harsh working hours in organizations (Golden, 2015). In the military, there are many leaders who perform duties of others in high positions, but do not receive the same benefits as them. They also do not get paid overtime because of the government job they hold. It is indeed different, but the job performance is the same even if they are filling in, when their leader is not there.

Jane has the right to ask for overtime, or a pay increase. Jane is fine with accepting either one, but the Jones Department are getting away with robbery in the way they are treating Jane, and all the other shift supervisors. The Jones Department Store will be better off giving Jane a pay increase instead of giving her overtime. Jane is right for being stressed, because she is being mislabeled by the Jones Department so they can save money. Employee mistreatment could cause a rippling effect, and other employees who see what is happening, will spread the word leading to employee dissatisfaction which causes many issues inside of an organization (Topa, Moriano, & Morales, 2013). Jane is only paid more than the associates because of the position that she has as a shift leader. If that is the case then the question Jane wants answered, is why she is getting paid less than assistant managers if they perform the same duties? The Jones Department Store has a decision to make, because Jane has a valid argument.

Determining Exempt or Nonexempt Employees

Determining an exempt, or nonexempt employee is very crucial when classifying employees. Amy needs to take in consideration if a shift leader is actually exempt, or nonexempt according to the Federal Labor Standards Act. Some factors that might help her in determining the classification of her employees is to understand the FLSA, and determine whether her shift leaders fall into one of those categories. They clearly do not because they are not a manager, or an assistant manager, and do not fall into any other category of the FSLA. Shift leaders step in sometimes but not enough to say they are in a managerial position.

Amy needs to also consider how much her employees make a year. The new FairPay Rules, requires that employees get paid overtime if they do not make more than $23,660 a year ($455 a week), regardless of the position that they hold (Martocchio, 2015). Amy should really look at how she labels employees as exempt or nonexempt. Jane could take Amy to court if these factors are true. Jane can say that she is not getting treated fairly, deserves compensation for the hard work, and dedication that she delivers every day to the Jones Department Store. God teaches us to treat everyone fairly, and do not cheat someone because of the position that they hold. Colossians 2:8 states, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8, ESV). Amy should research, and decide if she is wrong for how she classifies her shift leaders. If she is wrong then she needs to fix it, and give her shift leaders the money that they deserve.

Conclusion

Exempt and nonexempt employment classification is important when putting a title on an employee. The FLSA has a clear, and sometimes compromised guideline as to who is considered exempt or nonexempt. Employees work hard, give relentless dedication, and motivation when it comes to their job performance. Cheating them out of well-deserved money is not right, and is wrong in God’s eyes. Laws are put in place to combat this issue, and they still are managers in organizations that look for loopholes in them to find reasons to not pay employees for their hard work. Mistreatment of employees causes the work environment to become hostile as employees start to rebel against them. Employees will picket, not come to work, taking a stand against the unfair wages that they receive. Compensation whether it is money, time off, promotion, or bonuses is essential for employees. The more that they see that their organization is taking care of them, the more dedicated they become. The employees will work harder, become more motivated, and increase in their overall job performance if they are treated fairly.

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