Express your agreement or disagreement with their analyses and clearly state your reasons.

Scenario 1

A secretary employed by aU.S. aircraft dealership regularly works 9 am - 5 pm, Monday through Friday. The secretary's duties include completing all of the forms needed to close aircraft sales and being present during closings to type up any changes that may arise. Sometimes, closings are not completed until after 5 pm or, for Friday closings, until sometime on Saturday. When that happens, the secretary is allowed to come to work later the following workday morning to compensate for having worked overtime to help finish closing the sale.

• Is the employer in compliance with the law? Explain.
• If this is a violation, what are the possible consequences to the employer

Analysis

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), certain employees ("non-exempt employees") must receive overtime pay of one-and-one-half times pay when they work more than the prescribed 40 hours per week. The Act also stipulates that substitute for overtime pay cannot be used as compensatory time. After viewing the descriptions in Scenario 1, I can infer that the employee is considered a "non-exempt employee" because their primary duties do not require them to use discretion and independent judgment with respect to significant matters. The scenario does not specifically mention that the employer was using compensation time as a trade for overtime pay, but due to his lack of clarity, it can be implied that way. In my opinion, the employer is aware of his/her actions and their intention is to to circumvent an overtime pay by telling the employee they may come in later the next day knowing this would offset the total time for the week in attempts to stay under 40 hours.

Scenario 2

You are an avionics technician employed by aU.S. airline, all of whose maintenance personnel are represented by a union and working under a union contract with the company. You dislike unions, don't want to be a member of the union or to have to pay union dues, and don't want the union representing your interests.

• Can you opt out and cut your own deal with management?
• Explain.

Analysis

Yes, the avionics technician can opt out if they choose to do so, but the employee will most likely get the deal that is given to the other employees as part of the collective bargaining agreement between the employer and the union. Once a union has been certified, it has the exclusive authority to represent all of the air carriers' employees in that craft or class (including those who would rather not be so represented or voted against unionization). The employee can also save money by not paying the union dues as the union will not represent the case of employees. Otherwise, the employees may also end up paying the union dues as a part of the collective payment towards the union.