Compliance Watch:

What are my rights as a salaried employee in Mississippi?

Mississippi adopts the federal definition of salaried employment. Therefore, a salaried employee in the state is any employee who receives a fixed predetermined salary at the end of every pay period regardless of the number of hours worked, quality of work, or quantity of output. 

Salaried employees in the state can be paid monthly or bi-weekly based on their industry and federal classification. Salaried employees in manufacturing should be paid at least twice in a calendar month while their counterparts in the education industry can be paid once in a calendar month. Regardless of the frequency of payment adopted, employers in the state are expected to pay their employees regularly on the designated paydays.

Salaried employment in Mississippi is classified into two categories based on the applicability of overtime and minimum wage laws to each category. The first category of salaried employees is exempt employees, who are not subject to federal or state overtime and minimum wage laws. The second category of employees are bound by both laws and are eligible for overtime pay.

Common Questions About Salaried Employee Rights in Mississippi

• Minimum Wage: Non-exempt salaried employees in Mississippi are entitled to compensation of at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Similarly, non-exempt employees in the state are entitled to the federal minimum salary of $35,568 per year ($684 per week).
• Overtime Pay: Eligible salaried employees in the state are entitled to overtime pay for time worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek. Overtime pay is computed as at least 1.5 times their regular rate. 
• Equal Pay: Mississippi adopts the provisions of the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) on equal pay. Accordingly, salaried employees in the state are protected from any form of employment discrimination, including unequal pay based on their race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.
• Safety in the Workplace: The state requires employers to adhere to the workplace standards set by the  Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). As per OSHA laws, employees have the right to a safe workplace that is free from any known dangers to their health and safety. Employees in the state also have a right to access records of workplace injuries that have occurred in their place of work in the past. 
• Family and Medical Leave: Non-exempt salaried employees in Mississippi have the right to up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The leave typically covers specific family and medical reasons, such as the birth, fostering, and adoption of a child, serious health conditions that prevent an employee from working, and caregiving for an immediate family member with a serious health condition. 
• Non-Discrimination and Protection from Harassment: The EEOC prohibits any form of harassment in the workplace or employment discrimination based on all protected characteristics.

Yes, some salaried employees in the state are eligible for overtime pay for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek. However, it’s important to note that not all salaried employees qualify for overtime pay. Overtime pay does not apply to exempt employees regardless of hours worked.

Yes, while the state does not have labor laws that address permissible pay deductions, it defers to the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which has the following guidelines on pay deductions:

• Employers should bear the cost of employee uniforms but if an employee bears the cost of uniforms, the corresponding deduction should not bring their salary below the minimum wage.
• Employers may deduct the cost of property that is damaged, broken, or stolen by an employee if the deduction does not reduce the employee’s salary below the minimum wage.
• Employers may recover cash shortages or other financial losses caused by an employee from their salary if the deduction does not reduce the employee’s pay below minimum wage.
• Employers may recover any economic losses incurred due to an employee’s negligence if the corresponding deduction does not reduce an employee’s salary below minimum wage.

Mississippi labor laws do not require employers to offer any rest or meal breaks to employees. However, employers may provide breaks. Employers who allow employees to take breaks are bound by federal laws, which require short breaks of up to 20 minutes to be considered compensable time while longer breaks of 30 minutes and above can be unpaid. 

While breaks for regular employees are not required, employers must provide reasonable breaks for breastfeeding employees to express milk. The length of the breaks is not defined. In addition to regular breaks, employers must designate safe and functional spaces that are private, shielded from view, and free from intrusion. Employers are explicitly prohibited from designating bathrooms as spaces for nursing mothers to express milk. 

Salaried employees in Mississippi may not have the right to any type of leave. The state does not require private employees to provide vacation, sick, holiday, personal, or bereavement leave. Similarly, employers in the state are not required to compensate employees for participating in jury duty. 

However, exempt employees are entitled to family and sick leave as provided by the FMLA. Similarly, state employees are entitled to personal and medical leave. The employees accrue medical leave at different rates starting from 5-8 hours of leave per calendar month depending on the employee’s length of service. Personal leave accrues at a rate of 12-18 hours per calendar month based on an employee’s length of service.

Mississippi does not have wage and labor laws but defers to federal laws. Therefore, the state adopts the FLSA’s definition of flexible work arrangements as any work schedule that deviates from the traditional 8-hour work days and 40-hour work weeks. 

Like the FLSA, Mississippi does not address flexible work arrangements. Rather, the state leaves the matter to private agreements between employers and employees. Therefore, a salaried employer can request a flexible work arrangement and their employer is at liberty to grant or turn down the request.

Mississippi upholds the FLSA’s classification of exempt employees. Therefore, an exempt employee in the state is a bona fide executive, professional, administrative, or outside sales employee who meets the federal criteria for exempt status.

Exempt status in the state has the following implications for employees:

• Salary-Based Pay: Exempt employees are entitled to a fixed salary regardless of the number of hours worked, quality, and quantity of their output.
• Overtime Eligibility: Exempt employees are not subject to overtime laws and are not entitled to overtime pay regardless of the number of hours worked in a workweek.
• Job Security and Income Stability: Exempt employees are guaranteed federal protections such as job-protected leave. Additionally, their salaries are not dependent on the number of hours worked. 

Exempt status has the following implications for employers in Mississippi: 

• Administrative Workload: Employers are not required to track hours worked by exempt employees or compute different rates of compensation for regular and overtime hours, which can simplify payroll and other HR administrative tasks.
• Fixed Labor Costs: Since exempt employees receive a fixed salary and no overtime pay, labor costs are constant and more predictable for employers.
• Recruitment and Retention: Exempt status guarantees employees a higher minimum salary threshold than the minimum wage. Employers can use the status as an incentive to attract and retain experienced and skilled employees, particularly in managerial and professional roles.
• Compliance: Employers must ensure that exempt employees meet specific federal criteria before classifying them as exempt to avoid legal issues.

To determine whether an employee is exempt from minimum wage and overtime laws in Mississippi, the following specific tests can be applied:

1. Salary Basis Test: An employee must be paid on a salary basis to qualify as exempt. Exempt employees typically receive a predetermined salary that remains constant regardless of the quality or quantity of work performed and the number of hours worked in a workweek.
2. Salary Level Test: Exempt employees are entitled to a minimum compensation of $684 per week ($35,568 per year).
3. Duties Tests: Exempt employees typically perform specific job duties as per the FLSA. The duties fall under select exemption categories as follows:

• Executive Exemption: A salaried executive employee who earns $684 per week or more is considered exempt if their main duties involve managing an enterprise or one of its departments, directing the work of more than one employee regularly, and weighing in on material personnel decisions. 
• Administrative Exemption: An administrative employee who meets the salary level and basis criteria is exempt if their main responsibilities include office or non-manual work related to business or operations management and requires them to exercise discretion and autonomy.
• Professional Exemption: Learned professionals such as lawyers and doctors and creative professionals such as writers and artists are considered exempt if they meet the salary basis and level criteria and perform work that requires advanced knowledge or creativity.
• Outside Sales Exemption: Sales employees who receive a fixed salary of $684 a week or more are considered exempt if they typically generate sales away from the employer’s place of business.

Mississippi does not have minimum wage laws. Therefore, non-exempt salaried employees in the state are subject to federal minimum wage laws, which establish a minimum compensation of $7.25 per hour. Similarly, the state adopts the federal minimum salary threshold for exempt employees, which requires employers to pay the employees at least $684 per week ($35,568 per year).

Eligible salaried employees in Mississippi earn overtime pay for all time worked over 40 hours in a workweek. Overtime is compensated at a rate of 1.5 times the regular pay. State employees are allowed to choose between monetary compensation and compensatory time. 

Mississippi overtime laws recognize two types of compensatory time. The first type of comp time is FLSA compensatory time, which is earned by eligible employees who exceed 40 hours in a workweek and is compensated at a rate of 1.5 hours of time off for every hour of overtime. The second type is state compensatory time, which refers to any overtime that is not required by the FLSA but is offered by a state agency. This type of comp time is compensated at a rate of one hour of comp time for every overtime hour.

Employers in Mississippi are allowed to make pay deductions from employee salaries under the following conditions:

• Employers can deduct the cost of uniforms from an employee’s salary if the deduction does not lower it below the applicable minimum wage. 
• An employer may recover the cost of property that is damaged, broken or stolen by an employee from their salary but the deduction should not lower the employee’s salary below the minimum wage.
• Employers may deduct cash shortages or any other financial losses caused by an employee from their pay only if the deduction does not reduce their salary below the minimum wage.
• Employers may recover economic losses caused by an employee’s negligence but the deduction should not reduce an employee’s salary below the applicable minimum wage.

Mississippi state law provides several benefits and protections for employees. Here is an outline of key benefits and protections:

• Equal Pay: The state prohibits gender-based discrimination in recruitment processes and guarantees employees equal pay for work that requires equal skill, education, effort and responsibility, and similar working conditions.
• Protection from Discrimination: Mississippi upholds the provisions of the EEOC, which prohibit workplace discrimination based on protected characteristics. In addition to the protected characteristics outlined by the EEOC, the state explicitly prohibits discrimination against nursing mothers, protecting their right to take reasonable breaks to express milk.
• Family and Medical Leave: The state upholds the right of eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for specific family and medical reasons as per the FMLA. 
• Workers’ Compensation: Mississippi laws require employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance without any deductibles from the employees. Employees in the state who sustain injuries on the job or catch occupational illnesses are entitled to medical and wage loss benefits while the beneficiaries of employees who succumb to work-related deaths are entitled to weekly payments of up to 450 weeks. 
• Whistleblower Protection: The state protects employees who report labor law violations or participate in related investigations from retaliation through demotions, unsubstantiated adverse performance reviews, reduction in pay, suspension, termination, and denial of promotions.

Should you wish to report labor law violations in the state, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division by filling out this wage and hour division complaint form.