Exempt From Getting Paid

A reader recently wrote:

“I am on salary and work 24/7  I work my day shift then I am on call supervisor for our night shift they call me when they are having problems, which is all the time.  Do I earn time off for being on call or do I just get nothing.  I am supposdly exempt yet I can not fire or hire anyone without my supervisors approval.”

I will address the last statement first. Being an exempt employee has no correlation to hiring and termination policies.

However, the first part of your question is something many employees struggle with. I have written articles on the difference between an exempt and non-exempt employee - the pros and cons. Being exempt, you are paid a salary to work 40 plus hours. Depending what company you work for, the plus could range from 45 to over a 100 hours a week.

You need to give some serious thought about your future employment with this company. Being on salary does not mean working 24/7. It is completely unrealistic. Even if your salary was doubled, you could not work a full shift and be on call all of the time.

You need to have a chat with your supervisor and paint the picture for him. I doubt he takes calls after hours “all the time.”

Don’t trade time for hours off - that will not work.

Lastly, you need to hear the not so subtle message your employer is giving you. They do not value your work/life balance. I would seriously consider looking for a company that values you as an employee as well as a person.