Final answer:
The pay period exemption for an irregularly paid employee is the higher amount between the minimum wage requirement and the average hourly wage from the previous pay period. Overtime rate and standard salary for regular employees are not directly applicable to this question scenario.
Step-by-step explanation:
If an employee is paid on an irregular basis, the pay period exemption is a calculation that must take into account several factors.
One key factor is the minimum wage requirement, which ensures that workers receive a fair, baseline level of income for their work.
Moreover, when dealing with irregular payment schedules, another factor could be considering the average hourly wage from the previous pay period.
This helps to standardize earnings and provide a basis for calculating earnings in the current period.
However, when the question asks for the higher value between the minimum wage or the average hourly wage, it is not addressing overtime pay directly, since overtime rate is typically a separate calculation based on hours worked beyond a standard workweek.
In the U.S., the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes the minimum wage, places limits on child labor, and sets rules requiring overtime pay for nonexempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek.
While overtime can provide additional income, it does not directly pertain to the pay period exemption for someone with an irregular pay schedule.
Further to this, a standard salary for other regular employees might not be applicable to workers with irregular hours since they do not have a steady salary to compare against.
Considering the scenario where a minimum wage worker experiences a 10% increase in their hourly rate but works 2% fewer hours due to the higher wage impacting employer decisions, the overall income of the worker would generally increase.
This is because the pay raise more significantly offsets the reduction in hours worked. The same concept of balancing rate and hours applies when determining the 'higher' amount between the minimum wage requirement and the average hourly wage from the previous pay period for irregularly paid employees.