Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 875 - Labor Services Division › Minimum Wage › Chapter 218 - Employees Employed in a Bona Fide Executive, Administrative, or Professional Capacity (INCLUDING ANY EMPLOYEE EMPLOYED IN THE CAPACITY OF ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL OR TEACHER IN ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOLS) , or in the Capacity of Outside Salesperson › Rule 875-218.118 - Salary Basis

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Eligibility.
An employee will be considered to be paid "on a
				salary basis" if, under the employee's employment agreement, the employee
				regularly receives each pay period, on a weekly or less frequent basis, a
				predetermined amount constituting all or part of the employee's compensation,
				which amount is not subject to reduction because of variations in the quality
				or quantity of the work performed. Subject to the exceptions provided in this
				subrule, the employee must receive full salary for any week in which the
				employee performs any work without regard to the number of days or hours
				worked. This policy is also subject to the general rule that an employee need
				not be paid for any workweek in which the employee performs no work.
a. An employee will not be considered to be
				"on a salary basis" if deductions from the predetermined compensation are made
				for absences occasioned by the employer or by the operating requirements of the
				business. Accordingly, if the employee is ready, willing, and able to work,
				deductions may not be made for time when work is not available.
b. Deductions may be made, however, when the
				employee is absent from work for a day or more for personal reasons, other than
				sickness or accident. Thus, if an employee is absent for a day or longer to
				handle personal affairs, the employee's salaried status will not be affected if
				deductions are made from the employee's salary for the absences.
c. Deductions may also be made for absences
				of a day or more occasioned by sickness or disability (including work-related
				accidents) if the deduction is made in accordance with a bona fide plan, policy
				or practice of providing compensation for loss of salary occasioned by both
				sickness and disability. Thus, if the employer's particular plan, policy or
				practice provides compensation for the absences, deductions for absences of a
				day or longer because of sickness or disability may be made before an employee
				has qualified under the plan, policy or practice, and after the employee has
				exhausted the leave allowance thereunder. It is not required that the employee
				be paid any portion of the salary for the day or days for which the employee
				receives compensation for leave under the plan, policy or practice. Similarly,
				if the employer operates under a statutorily mandated or private sickness and
				disability insurance plan, deductions may be made for absences of a working day
				or longer if benefits are provided in accordance with the particular law or
				plan. In the case of a work-related accident, the "salary basis" requirement
				will be met if the employee is compensated for loss of salary in accordance
				with the applicable compensation law or the plan adopted by the employer,
				provided the employer also has some plan, policy or practice of providing
				compensation for sickness and disability other than that relating to industrial
				accidents.
d. Deductions may not be
				made for absences of an employee caused by jury duty, attendance as a witness,
				or temporary military leave. The employer may, however, offset any amounts
				received by an employee as jury or witness fees or military pay for a
				particular week against the salary due for that particular week without loss of
				the exemption.
e. Penalties imposed
				in good faith for infractions of safety rules of major significance will not
				affect the employee's salaried status. Safety rules of major significance
				include only those relating to the prevention of serious danger to the plant,
				or other employees, such as rules prohibiting smoking in explosive plants, oil
				refineries, and coal mines.
f. The
				effect of making a deduction which is not permitted under these interpretations
				will depend upon the facts in the particular case. Where deductions are
				generally made when there is no work available, it indicates that there was no
				intention to pay the employee on a salary basis. In that case, the exemption
				would not be applicable to the employee during the entire period when
				deductions were being made. Alternatively, where a deduction not permitted by
				these interpretations is inadvertent, or is made for reasons other than lack of
				work, the exemption will not be considered to have been lost if the employer
				reimburses the employee for the deductions and promises to comply in the
				future.