Discuss what is meant by the term exempt employee and the different exemption criteria established for identifying this group of workers. Which do you currently fall under? If given the choice to change categories, would you? Why or why not? 

Who is an Exempt employee?

Exempt employees are a type of employees that are exempted from requirements pertaining to overtime as well as minimum wages. These employees must however satisfy certain conditions in order to be exempted from over time and minimum wages laws. There are various criteria in these exemptions. It would be important to acknowledge that the exemptions are not effected on the basis of an individual’s job title. An individual’s job duties would have to be following certain established rules. These rules however differ with varying employee types.

Categories for exception

There are various categories or criteria for employee exemption. It would be important to acknowledge that the salary of an individual would not be the sole determinant. The criteria are

Executive exemption- in this category the employee must be earning $455 weekly to qualify for this criterion. They must also be undertaking the management of enterprises, subdivisions or departments and have at least two subordinates over whom he has the power to fire, hire, promote or even advance. Their recommendations in this respect therefore bear specific weight.

Administrative exemption- must be earning a weekly pay of $455 and above with their key function being office work that is non manual and related directly to general operations of the business. They can exercise discretion as well as independent judgment.

Learned professional exemption- the minimum wage per week is set at $455 with their main function pertaining to advanced knowledge in learning or scientific fields like nursing, law, accounting and medicine. The knowledge is attained through lengthy intellectual instruction in specific fields.

Currently which category do you fall under?

I fall under administrative exception. I have the ability to make independent decisions as well as have discretion over a wide range of issues.

Given a choice would you change categories?

Given a choice I still would not change categories. The requirement for consideration in particular category is the same and there are no exceptional benefits for any category. An individual is in a particular category because they are acknowledged to have so much control over their time and even have better compensation than the other non exempt employees.

 References

http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/ocpsp/flsa-ot/flsa.html#categories

http://careerplanning.about.com/od/federallawsus/g/def_exempt.htm

2. What is meant by division of labor? What are blue-collar, white-collar, and pink-collar segments of the workforce? Provide examples of each.

What is division of labor?

This is the partitioning of the process of production into disconnected elements. The partitioned elements are then assigned to different workers. The basis of division of labor is the notion that workers are in a better position to attain enhanced efficiency degrees due to the restriction to specific projects. It is actually related to specialization having in mind that the complex jobs would be subdivided into smaller units which with each task being assigned to specific individuals. In this case, an individual will end up doing a small part of the job all aimed at reaching the main goal. You will acknowledge however that the categories of division of labor can be based on different things like skills, sex etc. this leads to a reduction in cost as well as enhanced efficiency.

What are blue-collar segments of the workforce?

Blue collar jobs are the type of jobs that more or less incorporate manual labor. Workers in this category are paid according to the hourly rates and not annual salaries. This term originated from the association of workers in this category with blue uniforms. As much as the payment they receive may equal that of some office workers, they are not entitled to other benefits like vacation, bonuses and healthcare. An example of these workers is construction workers as well as automotive repair.

What are the White-collar segments of the workforce?

This segment of the workforce incorporates individuals who are highly trained or even degreed. In this case, these are vocations in the career level. The term white collar stemmed from the fact that individuals used to wear attires with white collars to appear professional to the clients or subordinates. Examples are clerical workers as well as managerial workers.

What are the pink collar segments of the workforce?

This is the workforce that is considered low paid and therefore coming with low status. It is definitely not a career. Examples in this category are nannies, babysitters, secretaries receptionists and maids. They are mainly taken by women.

References

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-white-collar-job.htm

www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-blue-collar-job.htm