EXEMPT vs. NOT-EXEMPT? whats the underlying difference?

[jaechiney]

Alright, so I got a job with St Jude Medical

when I interviewed for the job, it was conveyed to me that it was a salaried position for xx,xxx amount, and I got an offer letter and has since signed theletter and accepted the job.

now for the %#@ part, today as i took the train to drop off the "new employee packet", the HR manager came out and wanted to talk to me about"minor changes"

he said the legal dept told him that the job, originally for a "chemist" position, was a exempt position, but the position offered was"associate chemist' and was not considered exempt. I would still get paid the same amount, except now I am on an hourly basis.
I only have 10 days vacation compared to an exempt employee's 15 days. However, I DO get overtime pay if required.

I pretty much get the pay offered to salary employees but with the "non-exempt" title because of HR's lil mistake...
damn can they technically do this? what are some advantages and disadvantages from the employee's perspective? im sure alot of ppl get confused over this,if you know any 411 pls enlighten me!

 

[not a sneak]

If you signed a contract with them to be a certain position they can't demote you like that, legally(i think).

So exempt was salary and NE is hourly pay?

I say look for a new job, obviously they aren't very professional.

 

[jaechiney]

well originally, the position was exempt.

However, their argument WAS that i didnt REALLY met the requirement, but since they liked me blah blah (they prefereed a masters degree and 3 yrs exp) but Ionly has a bachelors and 1 year in a totally diff industry than medical devices

so adjustments was made to the title from "chemist" to "chemist, associate" prior to their offer, and was stated on the offer"associate chemist" BUT it was stated as salary pay on the offer.

its only NOW that they say I am on hourly full time pay instead of salary full time pay (I sill get paid the same though)
my question is that doe it work for or against me as an employee

u do have to consider that the pay is really good in my opinion, and although the HR made mistake I have not fully worked with the management to pass anyjudgements, although they were pretty cool when i interviewed.

How im feeling right now is like having an itch i cant quite scratch. Kinda wierd feeling having these last minute changes considering that st jude is such abig company.

 

[charliecontacto]

I get what you're trying to ask.

Exempt - Salaried employee who is "exempt" from normal hourly wage laws. BASICALLY it means you get paid your defined salary whetheryou work 20 hrs, 40hrs or 40+hrs. (no overtime Pay)

Non-Exempt - Hourly Paid employee who is not exempt from hourly wage laws. So you get paid based on how many hours you work and if you work over 40 hours,BY LAW, you HAVE to get paid overtime.