How does being exempt/non-exempt affect pay?
Exempt/non-exempt status determines whether an employee is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act or Title 5 for pay and related issues. Entitlements for overtime, compensatory time, and travel are based on this determination. Non-exempt employees as a general rule, may choose overtime or compensatory time, may not be coerced to take compensatory time versus overtime, are entitled to compensation for suffered or permitted overtime as well as scheduled and approved overtime, are paid overtime at a true time and a half rate, and have more travel-time-treated- as-hours-of-work entitlements. Exempt employees whose rate of pay exceeds a GS-10 step 10, may be compensated for irregular or occasional overtime work with compensatory time instead of overtime pay. For each employee whose rate of basic pay exceeds a GS-10 step 1, the hourly rate of pay for overtime is restricted or capped at l 1/2 times the hourly rate of a GS-10 step 1. See A-9 also.
