Salaried Employees: No Overtime - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards

Salaried employees, who fit the description of "Executive," "Administrative" or "Professional," are generally exempt under the law from receiving overtime, regardless of the number of hours they are required to work in a week. Some employers, in attempting to avoid paying overtime, make the decision to pay a salary to workers who do not fit the definition of Executive,Administrative or Professional. This practice does not eliminate the obligation of an employer to pay overtime based on a mathematical calculation of the employee's average hourly wage to employees who are otherwise eligible.

For Executive, Administrative and Professional employees receiving salaries, an employer may not generally deduct or "dock" from wages any amount of time for missed work which is less than a full day. Doing so may remove the employee from the "exempt" status under the Wage and Hour Law, and entitle him or her to overtime pay after 40 hours. An employer may, however, deduct any of the hours of missed work from an employee's ac-crued leave reserves (e.g., vacation, sick leave, compensatory time, etc.) without jeopardizing the exempt status.

To fall under one of the three exempt categories, the following criteria are used for quick reference:

1. Executive:
An Executive employee is one who is compensated on a salary basis at a rate of not less than $684 a week ($35,568 annualized; excluding board, lodging or other facilities), whose primary duty is the management of the enterprise in which the employee is employed, who customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more other employees, and who has the authority to hire or to fire other employees or whose recommendations as to hiring or firing, advancement or promotion or change in employee status are given particular weight.

2. Administrative:
An Administrative employee is one who is compensated on a salary basis at a rate of not less than $684 a week ($35,568 annualized; excluding board, lodging or other facilities), and whose primary duty is the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer, and whose primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

3. Professional:
A Professional employee is one who is compensated on a salary basis at a rate of not less than $684 a week ($35,568 annualized; excluding board, lodging or other facilities), whose primary duty is the performance of work requiring the knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction or requiring invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor.