SROs : typically paid as hourly or salaried?

[manuclear]

... and same question for the STA position (where they are utilized).

Thanks.

[shayne]

Usually Salary Non-Exempt.

[Already Gone]

SRO's who are working as operators are usually hourly with the possible exception of the Shift Manager/Shift Supervisor/Shift Superintendent...etc.  The STA is usually salaried.  The terms Salaried and Non-Exempt are mutually exclusive terms, while Salaried and Exempt mean essentially the same thing.

If the plant operators are unionized, the operators who are part of the bargaining unit are almost always hourly regardless of what license they hold.  It depends more on what their actual job function is.  An SRO who works in the Control Room would be hourly, but an SRO who works in training may be salaried.

Your question has a big hole in it where you use the word "typically".  There is nothing typical among nuke plants.  Every one of them thinks they invented everything after the rock - so they all tend to look at things their own way.  I have actually seen different pay and work rules between two units on the same site.  (Anyone who thinks I am referring to Salem/Hope Creek may be right, but I could be talking about Nine Mile Point 1 & 2).

[hamsamich]

I've seen it both ways also.  It is hard to ask your SROs to work 60-70 hours a week during the outages and just pay them a salary.  Bonus plans would have to be installed, but what if SROs weren't part of management at a certain plant?  Then they would need to be payed hourly.  It depends on alot of things.  You have to find out plant by plant.

[manuclear]

Thanks for the replies - this is the stuff they don't teach us in school....

How then is salary non-exempt and hourly structurly different?

[JnyMac]

Palo Verde the SROs are hourly to include double time.  The CRS and SM are also paid overtime except they get time and half for everything.

[Fermi2]

It depends on the utility.

When I was a Control Room Supervisor at Fermi I was paid a MINIMUM of 40 hours, in other words I was guaranteed 40 regardless of what I worked.

When I worked OT covering the Shift I was paid OT at a Straight time rate. I also got Shift Differential. (1 or 2 dollars an hour)

My bonus was paid every 6 months. If I failed requal my bonus was docked until I got passed my requal. If I remember correctly at one time I got paid time and a half on holidays.

When I became a Shift Manager my first two years I did not get paid for OT, however, we got a huge pay raise to give it up, and they had enough off shift SMs so I never had to cover vacations.

My SRO Bonus was paid the same way as a CRS.

In both positions I alledgedly got a Profit Sharing check, but DTE figured out ways to screw you out of that most years. As a Shift Manager I did get stock options, which I exercised when I left for a pretty penny.

My last 2 1/2 years at DTE SMs were paid for their OT so long as they were covering the shift.

When I interviewed at North Anna the SROs there got time and a half for OT, but their SRO bonus was a joke, and they were payed slightly under the rate I would expect for an SRO. I'm not real sure how much OT they worked because it seemed like they had a relief SRO on each shift whose job it was to cover vacations.

TVA SROs get paid for 40 hours regardless of how many they work. Our SRO Bonus is rolled into our salary and we get a bonus rolled in for being shift workers.

Outages pretty much suck whether you get paid OT or not!!

Mike

[Already Gone]

Salary=Exempt from overtime pay according to the Fair Labor Standards Act.  This applies to management and clerical personnel.  They may be required to work greater than 40 hours per week with no additional compensation.  Some companies pay OT to salaried workers at the straigh time hourly equivalent rate.  (Weekly salary divided by 40)  Some companies pay no OT to salaried workers, or require them to give a minimum number of OT hours for "free" before they are entitled to be paid.  The law does not require overtime pay for salaried (exempt) employees.
Hourly employees (non-exempt) are paid for all hours worked, and at least time-and-a- half for more than 40 hours in any week.  This includes most skilled trades - basically anyone who is not considered management or clerical.  Of course, different companies pay this differently as well.  It depends on the union contract (if any) and company policy.  Some pay 1.5 after 40 hrs per week.  Some pay it after 8hrs per day (California requires this).  Some pay time and three quarters for Saturday and double-time on Sunday.  Some variation of this applies to all hourly workers, even though the law requires only time-and-a-half after 40 hrs.

[shayne]

How then is salary non-exempt and hourly structurly different?

This is an article that explains many of the Salary Non-Exempt.  Some operators usually fall into the Fluctuating Workweek Overtime Pay.  It allows the company to put them on a annual salary and pay straight time for hours over 40. I believe this covers the RO, SRO where I'm at and I think it is the same for the STA.  They also receive bigger Profit sharing bonuses and licensing bonuses.

http://www.payroll-taxes.com/articles/salariesGeneral.html 3 pages so look for the {Next} at the bottom of each page.

Fluctuating workweek overtime pay is a method of complying with the FLSA that has the potential of saving an employer money.
To use this method of payment an employer must conform to certain rules as outlined in the CFR. [29 CFR 778.114] These rules can be summarized as follows:
    *  There must be an understanding between the employer and the employee that the employee will be paid using the fluctuating workweek method.
    * The workweek of the employee must be a fluctuating one.
    * The employee must be paid a fixed salary regardless of the number of hours worked each week. Employees who are paid an hourly wage do not qualify.
    * The salary must be sufficiently large enough so that the regular rate of pay will never drop below the minimum wage.
    * In addition to his salary, the employee must be paid overtime premiums for any hours worked over 40 in the workweek. The overtime premium rate is 50% of the regular rate of pay for the workweek.

As a NLO I'm non salary, paid at an hourly rate.  Paid time and half for scheduled hours over 40 hours and time and half for non scheduled work.  Sundays and Holidays are at a premium IAW our collective bargaining agreement.

I was salary non-exempt at my last job.  For example I could have been paid $20/hour as an hourly employee with very few benefits (non salary, so no 401k, expensive medical and dental) and paid time and half for hours over 40.  or
Paid Salary Non-exempt at $23/hr with more benefits (salary) and paid straight time for hours over 40.  At approx 60 hours you break even.

[hamsamich]

When I was at Brunswick in the late 90s I think the STAs and the CRSs (Management SROs) were paid salary, but if they worked past 45 hours they were paid straight time.  I think the SROs made regular time up to 40 then time and a half for everything else.  It may have been different at Salem, where the SROs were salaried and made no extra $$$ for OT.  But they did get a BONE-US.  The SROs at Salem, if I remember correctly, were pretty unhappy at Salem concerning $$$ (in 2000).

[Already Gone]

I was salary non-exempt at my last job.  For example I could have been paid $20/hour as an hourly employee with very few benefits (non salary, so no 401k, expensive medical and dental) and paid time and half for hours over 40.  or
Paid Salary Non-exempt at $23/hr with more benefits (salary) and paid straight time for hours over 40.  At approx 60 hours you break even.

I don't want to get into an argument with you, but if you were "non-exempt" it would have been illegal to pay you ST over 40.  If you read the article which you linked to your post, it will explain that to you.  The concept of "Salaried non-exempt" only works for people who normally work less than 40 hours per week (such as a bank teller who works five 8 hour days without a paid lunch - giving her 35 work hours per week).  For people who work a consistent 40 hr week it makes no difference whether they are salaried or hourly, but the distinction comes after 40 hours.  Only "exempt" employees may be paid less than time and a half for hours exceeding 40 in any week.  From your description above, you were an Exempt employee.

If you look at my earlier reply, you'll note that all companies use terminology to suit themselves.  They may have called you "non-exempt" because the were paying you for your OT.  Just to keep things clear, we should try to use more universal terminology so that people who work for different companies can understand each other.  According to the FLSA, "Exempt" means they don't have to pay you for overtime (whether or not they pay it is immaterial) and "Non-Exempt" means that you are entitled to time-and-a-half after 40 hours per week.  Generally, an exempt employee is paid a salary, and a non-exempt is paid hourly, but the previous rule applies even if they reverse that arrangement.

[manuclear]

Thank you to all the thread contributors for the good info - it willl serve me well in the job hunt.

Keep the input coming if you've got it!