Can Exempt Employees Be Given a Schedule?

Our subject matter experts take a lot of calls on a variety of HR topics. Here is one we commonly receive from employers:

Question: One of my exempt employees pushed back after I requested they be available during our business hours, stating they get to choose when they work. They also claim that, as an exempt employee, I can’t require them to work “overtime” hours. Is this accurate?

Answer: No, this is not correct. Employers may set specific schedules for exempt employees, such as by requiring them to be available and/or at your worksite during your business hours.

Additionally, employers can require exempt employees to work outside of regularly scheduled hours to fulfill their business needs. So long as they are properly classified as exempt, they won’t incur overtime when they work beyond eight hours in a workday or beyond forty hours in a workweek, for example.

Proper Classification

It is important to make sure your exempt employee is properly classified to be able to avoid overtime pay, meal and rest break requirements, etc. To be exempt, an employee must satisfy both a duties test and a salary minimum.

As part of the duties test, exempt employees must regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment, as well as engage in qualifying exempt duties more than 50% of the time. CEA members have access to Exempt Analysis Worksheets under our HR Forms Page to help make these assessments.

Second, you must pay your exempt employee the minimum salary. For 2025, that is an annual salary of $68,640, and this minimum is not pro-rated for part-time work. Beginning January 1, 2026, the minimum annual salary will rise to $70,304. (Note: different amounts apply to certain fast food and healthcare employees.) The hallmark of an exempt employee is that they are paid for the skills they bring to the job—not the number of hours they work. To maintain exempt status, the employee must be paid their full salary for a workweek in which they perform any work. This is known as the salary basis rule.

While deductions from paid leave bank balances, such as paid sick leave, vacation, and PTO banks, are generally permitted for work hours missed, you may not deduct from an exempt employee’s salary except in very limited circumstances. CEA members can review our Exempt Employee Deductions Fact Sheet for examples.

Low Hours or Poor Attendance

What if a salaried employee has been informed that they are required to work a regular 40-hour per week schedule, but they are consistently underperforming and only putting in about 20 hours per week?  What are your options?

While you may be tempted to reduce their paycheck, you are not allowed to reduce an exempt employee’s salary based on the quality or quantity of work performed. However, you are permitted to treat this as a disciplinary matter, up to and including termination of employment.

In these situations, some employers may also consider reclassifying the employee as non-exempt going forward. This may make sense from a financial standpoint if their hours are consistently low.

Additional questions? CEA members may call us at 800.399.5331.