Exempt & Non-exempt w/beepers
nicroman
15 Posts
I need your help! We're a company with approx. 90 ees - Our VP of IT has requested 2 beepers - 1 for an exempt and 1 for the non-exempt ee. The ees would be required to carry the beepers all the time in the event someone may need computer help after normal business hours (9-5 CST - we have several locations in different time zones) and on weekends.
What exactly is "beeper pay" and how is it administered? Is this a requirement? And what would the pay requirement be from the employer to the non-exempt employee?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks much.
What exactly is "beeper pay" and how is it administered? Is this a requirement? And what would the pay requirement be from the employer to the non-exempt employee?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks much.
Comments
Let me explain what "beeper" pay is to us in healthcare (and we use alot of it) and hopefully this will help.
Certain staff are designated to be "on-call" at the conclusion of their normal workday (evenings, nights and week-ends) when that department is not normally open. "On-call" means the employee is expected to be available (via beeper)so that they can respond by telephone when beeped. Being available means the person must be within 20 min's of the hospital if dispatched to come in, so while the person is free to use this time as they wish, they must remain within paging distance (cannot leave the state while on-call). There's no law that requires payment for on-call , so your local market may or may not do this. Being on-call is not hours worked, so there are no issues there. It's simply payment for being avail to be contacted. Our hospital designates beeper pay for those positions that are likely to be called in after hours. We have many people on unpaid call status, so if we can't reach someone, we try another until we contact the right person. With beeper-pay, you're assured of that person being readily available. We don't diferentiate between exempt or non-exempt status. Both are eligible for the beeper pay. If the non-exempt employee is called back to work, they are paid their normal hourly rate of pay. The exempt person comes back to work with no addt'l pay. Hope this brief explanation is helpful.