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FLSA Exemptions for Outside Sales People

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Are outside sales people also exempt from the FLSA in Alabama?

In many cases, outside sales people are exempt from coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as long as they are bona fide outside sales people. However, the majority of employees for any given company are most likely to be covered by the FLSA, including many employees that work in sales.

The FLSA is a federal Act that was put into place in order to ensure that all employees are paid at least the minimum wage. This Act applies to employees in all states across the country, including employees in the state of Alabama. However, the Act does not necessarily apply to all employees and outside sales people are amongst the type of employees that may qualify for exemption.

When an outside sales person is exempt from coverage, the employer does not need to base his or her pay on minimum wage. Also, the employer may not have to pay overtime for the employee. Otherwise, the standard rate of overtime pay would apply for each hour that the employee worked in addition to a 40-hour workweek.

In order for an outside sales person to qualify for exemption, the employee needs to meet at least some of the following qualifications:

·         The employee should work outside of the office, even if the employee works full-time for the company

·         The primary job functions of the employee need to involve obtaining orders, contractors, and following up with clients or customers to ensure customer relations

·         The employee may also work promotional events as part of his or her job requirements. However, employees that work on-site with an employer would not qualify for exempt status simply because they work a promotional event; the promotional event needs to be in addition to other outside sales qualifications

·         Also, if an outside sales person works from a home office, the individual will likely not qualify for coverage, as even a home office is considered to be property of the employer. The individual should, instead, work from the road making sales calls as his or her primary location. CB