It’s a common misconception that employers can’t require exempt employees to work a specific schedule or at least 40 hours a week. An employer may, in fact, do so and remain in compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The key is to pay exempt employees their weekly salary without any reduction for quality or quantity of work.
In general, a reduction of an exempt employee’s weekly salary violates the FLSA, but there are several exceptions. These include full-day salary reductions (as long as no work is performed) for the following:
