I am a newbie on this site. I signed up to ask one specific question.

I work for a company in Texas. My position with this company is a bit strange because I work in several different "departments." Prior to 2007, I was a part-time employee, and I worked on various projects earning an hourly salary. Beginning in 2007, I was offered a full-time position, but I continued to do extra work for other departments. I was paid hourly, and I was paid overtime for any hours above 40 per week.

Beginning in January of this year I was offered a salaried position for the 40 hours I work during the day. However, I continue to work for the other departments in the evening. My company is NOT paying me overtime for those extra hours. They have justified this by saying that my day job is an entirely separate project from my evening positions.

I have been reluctant to address this because my company pays me a very generous amount (both salary and hourly wages are fair). And my company gives me a lot of hours, allowing me to earn enough money to live and then some. I am afraid that making an issue over this will cause them to scale back my hours to 40.

So, is my company legally entitled to pay me my regular hourly salary even though I typically work more than 40 hours per week? If they are not entitled to do that, should I just keep my mouth shut since I'm pretty happy with this job anyway? Or is this an issue I should press? If I bug them about this, they might just lower my hourly salary to compensate for the difference.

What are your job duties in the "salaried" (which is merely a pay method) position? And what are your duties in the part-time position?

What are your job duties in the "salaried" (which is merely a pay method) position? And what are your duties in the part-time position?

My duties are to teach. However, the courses I teach during the day are entirely different from the evening courses (different material, different students, different location). I do NOT work for the government. It is a private corporation.

Thanks for the quick reply. If you could provide links or specific laws I should research, that would also be helpful.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17d_professional.pdf

Teachers
Teachers are exempt if their primary duty is teaching, tutoring, instructing or lecturing in the activity of imparting knowledge, and if they are employed and engaged in this activity as a teacher in an educational establishment. Exempt teachers include, but are not limited to, regular academic teachers; kindergarten or nursery school teachers; teachers of gifted or disabled children; teachers of skilled and semi-skilled trades and occupations; teachers engaged in automobile driving instruction; aircraft flight instructors; home economics teachers; and vocal or instrument music teachers. The salary and salary basis requirements do not apply to bona fide teachers. Having a primary duty of teaching, tutoring, instructing or lecturing in the activity of imparting knowledge includes, by its very nature, exercising discretion and judgment.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17d_professional.pdf

Thanks. Forgive my ignorance; does "exempt" mean that the overtime requirement does not pertain to teachers?

Edit: I read the document again, and I think I see the relevant portion (should have been obvious since Daw was kind enough to underline it). So my understanding is that my company is within its legal rights to deny overtime pay for my extra hours. If I am wrong, please let me know.

Yes, "exempt" means, among other things, exempt from the FLSA requirement of overtime pay.

However, the underlined portion really means that teachers exempt under these criteria do not have the restrictions against docking of pay and do not have to be paid at least $455/week, requirements that most other salaried exempt classifications require.

Thanks again for the replies.

I really don't know what I was thinking. It wouldn't be wise for me to make a big deal about this even if teachers were not exempt. My company has been quite fair with my compensation. I just felt a little annoyed that my take-home pay has decreased as a result of this administrative technicality. Of course, there are no guarantees in life. I'm lucky to have a good job in this economy. I get benefits and paid time off. What am I b!tc&ing about?

This is a very helpful forum, and I thank the regulars once again.