Leave for Exempt Employees

BelleF

Is it legal to give exempt employees extra leave to compensate for extra hours worked in their pay period?  It would be something like compensatory time for nonexempt employees but only at an even exchange rate (1 hour for 1 hour).  There would be an annual limit on the amount that they could accumulate and use.  We have some exempt employees that work many extra hours in a pay period (ex:  emergency calls, meetings, etc.) and are not able to take them off in that same workweek or pay period.  So, what I am wondering is if it is legal to allow them to bank some of these hours to use at a later date?  We do not want them to lose their exempt status, so do not want it as paid overtime.

dhall111

True comp time does not exist outside of public employers.  However, for exempt employees you can provide them with either additional pay or with time off however your company sees fit.  Just don't dock the weekly salary for that time off (which it doesn't sound like that's your plan anyhow). 

TXHRGuy

The best way to avoid having problems is not to pay exempt employees for hours worked.  Recognize their extra effort with some sort of non-time-based bonus for hitting some milestone as a result of their longer hours.