CPM FLSA Overtime & Exemption Rules 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following employees is most likely exempt under the FLSA's learned professional exemption?
- A skilled carpenter with 20 years of experience
- A registered pharmacist who reviews prescriptions and counsels patients (Correct answer)
- A data entry clerk who holds a bachelor's degree
- A seasoned chef trained through apprenticeship
Correct answer: A registered pharmacist who reviews prescriptions and counsels patients
The learned professional exemption applies to employees whose primary duty requires advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning, customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction — pharmacists typically qualify.
Question 2: Under the FLSA, a 'workweek' is defined as:
- Monday through Sunday, always
- Any fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 consecutive hours (Correct answer)
- The employer's payroll period, not to exceed 14 days
- A calendar week as defined by the IRS
Correct answer: Any fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 consecutive hours
The FLSA defines a workweek as any fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 consecutive hours — seven consecutive 24-hour periods — which the employer may designate.
Question 3: The FLSA's 'salary basis' requirement means an employee must receive their predetermined salary:
- Only when they work a full 40-hour week
- Regardless of the quality or quantity of work performed in any week they work (Correct answer)
- Subject to deductions for partial-day absences
- Only during weeks in which no disciplinary issues arise
Correct answer: Regardless of the quality or quantity of work performed in any week they work
An employee is paid on a salary basis if they regularly receive a predetermined amount of compensation each pay period, without reduction based on variations in the quality or quantity of work.
Question 4: Which of the following deductions from an exempt employee's salary is PERMITTED under the FLSA's salary basis rules?
- Deduction for a partial-day absence due to personal reasons
- Deduction for a full week absence due to jury duty
- Deduction for poor performance during a particular week
- Deduction for safety rule violations of major significance (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Deduction for safety rule violations of major significance
The FLSA permits deductions from exempt employees' salaries for penalties imposed in good faith for infractions of safety rules of major significance.
Question 5: Under the FLSA, which of the following workers is specifically exempt from overtime requirements?
- A hospital orderly working 12-hour shifts
- A non-management retail worker earning tips
- An agricultural worker employed on a small farm (Correct answer)
- A construction laborer on a federal contract
Correct answer: An agricultural worker employed on a small farm
The FLSA provides specific overtime exemptions for agricultural workers, particularly those employed on small farms that did not use more than 500 man-days of agricultural labor in any calendar quarter of the preceding year.
Question 6: A computer professional may be exempt from FLSA overtime under the computer employee exemption if paid on an hourly basis at a rate of at least:
- $15.00 per hour
- $27.63 per hour (Correct answer)
- $35.00 per hour
- $50.00 per hour
Correct answer: $27.63 per hour
Computer employees may qualify for exemption if paid hourly at a rate not less than $27.63 per hour, in addition to meeting the duties test.
Question 7: When an employer discovers it has improperly deducted from an exempt employee's salary, what is the consequence under the 'window of correction' rule?
- The exemption is permanently lost for that employee
- The exemption is lost for all employees in the same job classification company-wide
- The exemption is preserved if the employer has a clear policy, did not willfully violate it, and reimburses the employee (Correct answer)
- The employer must reclassify the employee as non-exempt for the following calendar year
Correct answer: The exemption is preserved if the employer has a clear policy, did not willfully violate it, and reimburses the employee
Under the window of correction, an employer can preserve the exemption if it has a clearly communicated policy prohibiting improper deductions, repays the improperly deducted amounts, and makes a good-faith commitment to comply.
CPM FLSA Overtime & Exemption Rules 3
Which of the following employees is most likely exempt under the FLSA's learned professional exemption?