HR Alert - DOL Clarifies Outside Sales Exemption |
Sales employees who rely on sales from work or home by mail, phone or the Internet do not qualify. “Any fixed site, whether home or office, used by a salesperson as a headquarters or for telephonic solicitation of sales is considered one of the employer’s places of business, even though the employer is not in any formal sense the owner or tenant of the property,” the FLSA regulations specify. That doesn’t mean that the sales force loses the outside sales exemption by stepping foot on the worksite or working some from home. For example, sales force mortgage loan officers satisfied the exemption, even though they conducted many tasks at work and home. Even meeting with clients in the office didn’t spoil the exemption when meetings were incidental to and in conjunction with the officer’s own outside sales activities, the DOL noted. “Activities employees perform that are incidental to their outside sales or solicitations also qualify as exempt outside sales work, but only if the incidental activity is in support of their own sales and not just generally ‘directed toward stimulating the sales of the company,’ ” the opinion letter explained. The key is that the primary duty of sales regularly be conducted away from the employer’s premises and the worker’s home office every workweek. They should also have considerable flexibility to set their working hours and schedule the tasks they perform during the workday. California They are 18 years of age or older; and They spend more than 50 percent of their working time away from the employer's place of business, selling tangible or intangible items, or obtaining orders or contracts for products, services, or use of facilities. Work performed incidental to the sale such as delivery, repair and maintenance is not considered exempt work in California and cannot exceed 50% of an employee's working time. Most inside sales employees are non-exempt. An inside salesperson is one who sells merchandise in a store or sales lot (for example, car, or RV sales lot) or one who sells a product or service via a company telephone. Inside sales employees working under Wage Orders 4 and 7 are exempt from overtime if: Their earnings exceed one-and-one-half times the minimum wage and More than half the employee's compensation represents commissions. This exemption applies to overtime only, not all other wage and hour laws. Audrianne Adams Lee Audrianne Adams, Founder and President of HR NETwork, has a reputation for delivering a message with energy, focus and passion that has an absolutely positive impact on the audience. As a speaker, she is lively, interactive, and enjoys having fun with tough subjects. Our goal for any group we are addressing is that audience members leave with at least two good ideas they can take away immediately to improve the workplace. Ms. Adams brings twenty years of human resources experience from Fortune 500 service and high-technology companies including Marriott, ADP, Epson, and Western Digital. Audrianne has an extensive background and “hands-on” experience in the design and implementation of HR programs that keep employers in compliance and “on-track”, and motivates employees towards increased business performance. HR NETwork, Inc. Human Resource Training Courses |
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