3 ms·

Question... why are such exemptions legal? I understand that it is codified in law, and hence "legal" but why is the underlying law not considered discriminator

• jaylevitt 15y ago
  I think the original idea of exempt employees was that you were paid for your work, not your hours. There was a trade-off; you couldn't be required to work a certain shift, but neither would you be paid for being present for longer than your shift. In reality, of course, this often leads to the expectation of longer hours, because why not.
• nknight 15y ago
  Discrimination is not illegal. Discrimination based on certain classifications, some Constitution- or court-defined, some legislature-defined, can be illegal, but isn't always. These are called suspect classifications[1], and whether any particular discriminatory law or action is illegal depends on the level of scrutiny attached to the classification, the nature of the law or act, and whether there's any actual harm. Absent procedural errors, the only way to get a federal law tossed is for it to be declared unconstitutional. The US Constitution does not protect people based on their pay or the nature of their job. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspect_classification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspect_classification