for my HR MANAGEMENT CLASS, PLEASE HELP

Chapter 6 Compensation From Barista to Manager

You work at an upscale coffee shop that is part of a nationwide chain of 300 stores. You started as a barista, but then you moved up. Your title is now store manager. You are expected to work 55 hours each week. Your boss, the district manager, says you need to be in the store to get to know the customers and supervise the staff. It is up to you to make sure everything runs smoothly, and customers enjoy a great customer experience, which translates into sales growth for the store and store profit. By the way, no matter how many hours you work, you are paid for 40 hours only and no overtime because you are the manager.

As you think about how you spend your time at the store, you cant help but feel that a lot of your time seems to be spent on things that dont seem much like managing, such as making coffee drinks, checking supplies, and sometimes cleaning the bathrooms. So, this is the life of a manger. It seems very much like being a barista, except that you many more hours, have more responsibility, and you dont get paid all that much more. You do spend some time on training new employees, and you interview job applicants. But the district manager is around several hours a week and she has her own opinions about who to hire and how to run the store. She handles all discipline and decides when an employee is terminated. In addition, there are clear guidelines to be followed on how to run many aspects of the stores operations.

Baristas in your store earn $15 to $20 per hour based on years of experience, after a three-month training period. Most baristas work 30 to 35 hours each week and can participate in the companys health insurance plan and 401(k) plan. Baristas are only allowed to work more than 40 hours in a week in extreme emergency situations, which is very rare. The more you think about it, the more you think that it sure would be nice to get paid for working 55 hours. Your current salary is $675 per week, which is just more than the most experienced baristas in the store. In fact, you have friends who work in other businesses and when they work over 40 hours in a week, they get time and a half for the hours beyond 40. That is appealing. If you are going to spend all your time at work, it would be nice to at least get paid what you deserve for it.

Now switch hats and look at the situation from the companys point of view. Answer the following questions based on information in chapter 6:

1. Is this company violating the exemption requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act? Explain why or why not? (use the standards for executive exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Board) (10 points)
2. Given you work 55 hours each week, how would the FLSB calculate your hourly rate of pay? (5 points)
3. (A) Based on this hourly amount, what would it cost the company to reclassify your job as nonexempt? In other words, what would your weekly pay be if you are paid overtime for 15 hours each week? (10 points) (B) If your pay would increase, is the amount enough to increase your motivation to remain in the job? Explain why or why not. (5 points)
4. As the economy improves after the Covid crises, how might the companys pay policies affect its ability to recruit store managers? (10 points)
5. Given what you know about the types of compensation available, what changes in store manager pay would you suggest? Be creative. (10 points)