Can I require exempt employees to work specified hours and make up missed work time?

Yes, you can require this of exempt employees. The matter of working specified hours was addressed in the preamble to the exemption regulations, which were revised in April of 2004. The preamble is a discussion of the rules, and the Wage & Hour Division (WHD) offered the following: "We agree that employers, without affecting their employees' exempt status ... may require exempt employees to record and track their hours; may require exempt employees to work a specified schedule; and may implement across-the-board changes in schedule under certain circumstances."

There is nothing wrong with expecting exempt employees to work a specified schedule (i.e., to arrive by a designated time, to remain at work until a designated time, and to work a specified number of hours per week). If exempt employees could set their own hours, employers would have a difficult time managing their business and ensuring the availability of staff. Thus, for example, exempt employees could be deemed "tardy" if they do not arrive by a certain time, and could have unexcused absences if they leave early or do not work the expected number of hours.

The WHD also responded to a question about "making up" missed work time in an Opinion Letter (FLSA 2006-6, Required minimum hours and make-up time under section 13(a)(1)). In that letter, the WHD noted:

"The number of hours worked by an employee who is exempt ... is a matter to be determined between the employer and the employee. An employer may require an exempt employee to make up work time lost due to personal absences of less than a day without loss of the exemption... As the preamble to the final rule explains, an employer may require an exempt employee to do things such as to record and track hours and to work a specified schedule without affecting the employee's exempt status."