You should be aware of the general rules governing whether an employee is entitled to an hourly wage or a salary, since this can avoid complaints from employees who wish to switch their status from one to the other. The key guidelines for designating a person as being eligible for a salary are as follows:

• Administrative. Those in charge of an administrative department, even if they supervise no one, and anyone assisting management with long-term strategy decisions.

• Executive. Those who manage more than 50 percent of the time and supervise at least two employees.

• Professional. Those who spend at least 50 percent of their time on tasks requiring knowledge obtained through a four-year college degree (including systems analysis, design, and programming work on computer systems), even if a degree was not obtained. The position must also allow for continued independent decision making and minimal close supervision.