Re: [PLUG] OT: salary related question

[Paul <paul@dpagin.net>]

> I've always considered hourly pay to be just that and an annual salary 
> to be just that, meaning that they are apples and oranges.  Hourly 
> employees get paid for their time which can vary and so will their pay. 
> Salaried employees get paid an anual salary that is divided by the the 
> number of pay periods in the year, usually 52 (weekly), 26 (bi-weekly), 
> 24(semi-monthly) or 12 (monthly).  It doesn't matter how many or how 
> few hours they work, so the hourly wage is just theoretical (just as 
> the annual wage is just theoretical for the hourly employee).
From what I've read, unless employees perform management-type duties, 
they are entitled to overtime compensation, even if they are on salary. 
And it doesn't depend on title; it depends on the actual duties 
performed.  So, just as multiplied hourly pay is the anticipated yearly 
pay for an hourly employee, anual salary is the anticipated yearly pay 
for a salaried employee.  It might depend on the state that you live in, 
but I read that the government will enforce overtime compensation, even 
in the form of back pay, if the employee bothers to make a claim.  And 
that claim is based on the anual salary divided to determine the 
equivelent hourly pay.

I think one of the differences is that hourly people tend to get 
compensated with overtime pay, while salaried employees tend to get comp 
time.  I'd rather have comp time, but it's almost a rip off because 
working an extra two days doesn't by you three days off.  Still, time is 
more valueable than a little bit of money, unless your really short on cash.

There may be a difference as far as bonuses go too.  (The only bonuses 
I've ever gotten were only enough to buy dinner for two at Burger King, 
*if* the coupons hadn't expired.)


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