> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://handbook.helendelovely.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Employment Classifications

> Exempt and non-exempt, full and part time, employee and contractor. Why it matters for your paycheck.

Your classification decides how you're paid, whether overtime applies, and which benefits you're eligible for. It's stated in your offer letter. If you think yours is wrong, tell the practice manager. Classification follows the facts of the job, not preference.

## Employee or contractor

Our clinicians and front-office staff are W-2 employees. That's a deliberate choice. As an employee, the practice pays the employer share of Social Security and Medicare, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, and, for clinicians, malpractice coverage. A contractor pays all of that alone.

Occasionally the practice works with independent contractors for specific projects. Contractors are not covered by this manual except where a page says so, and they are not eligible for employee benefits.

## Exempt or non-exempt

**Exempt** employees are paid a salary and are not eligible for overtime. Under federal law, an employee can be exempt only if they are paid at least the federal salary floor and their duties qualify. As of September 2026 that floor is $684 per week ($35,568 per year), restored by the Department of Labor in May 2026 after a higher 2024 figure was struck down by the courts (29 CFR § 541.600). Our clinician base salaries clear it on base alone: $46,000 for LCSWs and $38,000 for CSWs. Licensed clinical work is treated as learned-professional work under the duties test (29 CFR § 541.301); the rule doesn't list social workers by name, so this is on the attorney list to confirm, especially for a supervised CSW.

Being exempt also means the salary is real. You're paid the full salary for any week in which you do any work. The practice never docks a partial week; the only unpaid weeks are full weeks you don't work at all, by your choice or arrangement. See [Time off and the four-day week](/pay-and-time-off/time-off-and-the-four-day-week).

**Non-exempt** employees are paid hourly and earn overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek. Our MSW practicum interns are non-exempt hourly employees. See [Timekeeping and overtime](/pay-and-time-off/timekeeping-and-overtime).

> **Important.** If you're non-exempt, every hour you work must be recorded and paid. Never work off the clock, even to be helpful.

## Full time and part time

Clinicians work a four-day week. That is full time here. Nobody is scheduled a fifth day, except by their own choice to bank a day for a longer break. See [Time off and the four-day week](/pay-and-time-off/time-off-and-the-four-day-week).

Part-time employees are those regularly scheduled under 30 hours a week. Benefit eligibility for part-time employees is set in your offer letter.

## Introductory period

We don't use a formal probationary period. Your first 90 days include structured check-ins at 30, 60, and 90 days, described in [Performance reviews](/leaving/performance-reviews). Those are for feedback and support. They don't change at-will status in either direction.

> **Why.** A formal "probation" label adds legal ambiguity without buying anything at our size. Regular check-ins do the real work.