1. Home
  2. Business & Finance
  3. Human Resources

Exempt Employees

By , About.com Guide

Definition:

Exempt employees are employees who, because of their positional duties and responsibilities and level of decision making authority, are exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Exempt employees are expected, by most organizations, to work whatever hours are necessary to accomplish the goals and deliverables of their exempt position. Thus, exempt employees have more flexibility in their schedules to come and go as necessary to accomplish work than non-exempt or hourly employees.

Exempt employees are most often found in managerial, supervisory, professional, administrative, and functional leadership roles such as marketing or product development.

Much attention has been directed at the appropriate classification of exempt employees since revised overtime rules were signed into effect in August, 2004. While many exempt employees, reclassified as non-exempt employees, gained the ability to earn overtime, others, such as team leaders, lost their overtime pay eligibility as newly exempt employees.

Submit a word for the Glossary | Complete Glossary

Also Known As: Salaried Employee
Alternate Spellings: Salary Employee
Explore Human Resources
About.com Special Features

10 Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Credit

Easy steps to take control of your credit card debt. More >

Holiday Central

What to eat, where to go, fun things to do and how to save money on the perfect gifts. More >

  1. Home
  2. Business & Finance
  3. Human Resources
  4. HR Management: FAQs/Basics
  5. Glossary of Terms
  6. Glossary - E
  7. Exempt Employees: Definition of Exempt Employees

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.