Human Resource Blog

Outside Sales Exemptions in Connecticut

	Compensation
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Are our outside sales people exempt in Connecticut?

Some sales people will be exempt from coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, not all employees are exempt from coverage. The FLSA is a federal Act that applies to employees in all states across the U.S., including employees that work for public and private employers.

The Act helps to ensure that all employees are compensated fairly for the work that they perform and establishes the minimum wage. Minimum wage is a base rate of pay that employees should be paid for each hour that they work for an employee. In addition to the minimum wage, employees should be paid overtime for the work that they perform in addition to the standard 40-hour work week. Overtime should be paid at a rate of time and a half the normal rate for the employee’s pay.

Not all employees will qualify to receive exempt status from the FLSA. However, some sales people will be exempt, as long as they are outside sales people. When an employee qualifies for exempt status, the employee does not need to be paid based on the minimum wage or based on overtime that the employee works. Instead, the employee can be paid based on a salary or on commissions.

Employees that wish to receive exempt status for an outside sales position should meet the following conditions;

·         The individual needs to work primary outside of the employer’s office.

·         A home office does not necessarily entitle an employee to exempt status, as a home office is still considered to be property of the business.

·         Employees should primarily work in sales by gaining clients, making sales calls, generating contracts, and maintaining customer relations.

·         The employee can also work at promotional events to receive exempt status in some cases. However, simply working at a promotional event will not guarantee that the individual is exempt from coverage. Internal sales people may not be exempt simply for working a promotional event, for example. CB