Disclaimer
All three of the above exemptions require payment of a true salary:
"salary" is defined as agreed-upon periodic compensation, intended to cover a period of at least a week, equivalent to at least $455 per week, that is not subject to reduction on the basis of quantity or quality of work performed
that means that if an employee does poor work (including damage to or loss of property), the employer cannot dock the employee's salary - if the employee violates a rule (other than a safety rule of major significance), the employer cannot dock their pay - if the employee misses a few hours in a day, a private employer cannot dock the salary (but a governmental employer can!)
However, if in addition to the salary, the exempt employee receives additional pay such as a commission or bonus, such additional pay can be docked, consistent with a written wage deduction authorization agreement - see DOL opinion letters FLSA2006-24 and FLSA2006-24NA
vacation: employers can dock the salary in units of a day at a time for personal absences
sick days: employers can also dock the salary in units of a day at a time for health-related absences if the employer has a sick leave pay policy – if the absences are covered by the FMLA, then partial-day deductions from salary are possible
two varieties of unpaid suspensions:
tougher rule applies in the case of absences due to jury duty, witness duty, or temporary military duty: if an employee works any part of a week and misses the rest of the week for jury, witness, or military duty, he or she must receive the full salary for the whole week, but if they miss a full week, no pay is due for that week; partial-week deductions from leave balances are allowed
same rule applies for furloughs, bad-weather days, and other occasions when work is unavailable to salaried exempt employees who are otherwise available for work: if the office is closed on a day that a salaried exempt employee would normally work, then partial-week deductions from pay are not allowed, but if the employee misses an entire week for such a reason, the salary may be reduced by that amount; partial-week deductions from leave balances are allowed
partial-day docking of salary should not be done by a private sector employer unless the FMLA applies to an absence, or the employer imposes a disciplinary suspension for violation of a safety rule of major significance
remember: any deductions from salary must be authorized by the employee in writing under the Texas Payday Law – see item 12 in the sample wage deduction authorization agreement in this book
partial-day docking of leave balances – DOL says it is permissible to dock leave balances for absences, as long as the salary itself is unaffected – however, docking leave balances for partial days missed can lead to morale problems if the employee feels that such a practice amounts to nickel-and-diming on the employer's part, particularly if the employee always works a lot of hours each week in any event – for compliance with the Texas Payday Law, ensure that any deductions from leave balances are consistent with the company’s written paid leave policy
For more information on how the new DOL regulations changed required salary amounts for exemptions, see the article "Focus on the New DOL White-Collar Exemption Regulations" in this book
Outside Sales Representative
only a duties test applies - for an outside sales representative, the primary duty involves working away from the employer's principal place of business calling on customers and making sales
there is no minimum wage or salary requirement
the only thing to keep in mind is to follow the commission pay agreement - failure to do so will violate both general contract law and most state wage payment laws
Computer Software Professional
there is a special exemption under FLSA section 213(a)(17) for "any employee who is a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer, or other similarly skilled worker, whose primary duty is --
(A) the application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications;
(B) the design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications;
(C) the design, documentation, testing, creation, or modification of computer programs relating to machine operating systems; or
(D) a combination of duties described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), the performance of which requires the same level of skills, and
who, in the case of an employee who is compensated on an hourly basis, is compensated at a rate of not less than $27.63 per hour."
the regulations (29 C.F.R. 541.400 and 541.401 (former regulations 541.3(a)(4) and 541.303)) exclude workers who build or install computer hardware or who are merely skilled computer operators; they make clear that the exemption applies only to the true software programming or design experts
a DOL letter ruling of December 4, 1998 (BNA, WHM 99:8201) states that this exemption does not include employees who "provide technical support for business users by loading and implementing programs to businesses' computer networks, educating employees on how to use the programs, and by aiding them in troubleshooting." In other words, "help desk" employees do not fit this exemption. See also DOL opinion letter FLSA2006-42 in this regard.
properly speaking, the exemption applies only to the very top experts in computer software, i.e., the ones who actually write the software programs, or who design, implement, and maintain a company's network software, intranet, or Internet presence
an employee who fits this exemption may be paid either a salary of at least $455 per week, or on an hourly basis with no premium for overtime work, i.e., straight-time pay for all hours worked, as long as the hourly rate is at least $27.63 per hour