Can professionals be paid on an hourly basis?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) makes non-exempt employees subject to minimum wage and overtime rules. Exempt employees—those in an administrative, executive, or professional capacity—are not subject to these rules. A professional for this purpose is one whose primary responsibilities require advanced knowledge in a field of science and learning (typically higher education degrees). A licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) was treated by the employer as non-exempt and objected to being paid hourly rather than on salary. While social workers with master’s degrees will generally meet the duties required for exemption, the DOL said that the FLSA only prohibits misclassification of non-exempt employees. This means that even though an employee meets the criteria for being exempt, an employer may classify the employee as non-exempt and pay on an hourly basis. #IdeaoftheDay