No subject

make independent decisions as a supervisor, professional, or any of the other 
exempt classifications that employee qualifies as exempt.  Now, there are 
obvious abuses of this exemption, but they come with the territory of the 
responsibility inherent in a management position.  And, like it or not, and 
whether the station management agrees or not, the DOL recognizes a broadcast 
CE as being management level.  Maybe point out that announcers are also 
considered exempt... :-)

My opinion is this:  if a person has the title and responsibilities of a 
management-level BE, and is exempt, then that person also has the 
responsibility to negotiate their position as well.  This includes hours of 
work, job description, etc.  If the job description includes too much 
'non-professional' work, then challenge the exempt status, if you're 
comfortable negotiating that with your management.

Of course, you may end up with the 'right to terminate without cause' clause 
being applied to you; if a management-level employee can't negotiate to a 
point of compromise then there are serious problems, and I would question the 
ability to manage in that organization at all; this is not questioning that 
person's ability per se, but questioning the manageability in that particular 
organization.  And some people frankly should never be in a management role; 
but we're not arguing the Peter Principle here.

Of course, in a small station there is typically only one tech, who is 
frequently given the title 'Chief Engineer' without the authority of that 
position.  In that case, the individual must make the informed decision as to 
whether to put up with it or not.

If Broadcast Engineers as a class are 'professionals' then they qualify as 
exempt; if they are non-exempt are they still 'professionals'?  Depends.

But, again, I appear to have hit a nerve without intending too, and I 
apologize for that.
-- 
Lamar Owen
Director of Information Technology
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
1 PARI Drive
Rosman, NC  28772
(828)862-5554
www.pari.edu