It's all a job coding issue concerning responsibilities and supervision. Basically, in most states if anyone can be considered your "supervisor" directing your on site or work tasks rather than just a manager for the paperwork/contractual issues, you can be dropped down to hourly - which is a prime way to save on not only on the labor costs and associated taxes your company pays for employing you.
As an hourly employee, there is no contract to protect the amount of hours they are supposed to pay you over the regular pay period, so if they need to cut payroll costs and overhead, they can do that without notice any time for as long as they want.
If you are salaried (no matter if it is exempt or non-exempt), you (and the government) are being paid for a minimum of full time work, no matter if you're working 30 hours or 60 hours a week, and if the company wants to cut your salaried working hours, you must be given sufficient notice and a planned explanation of how much and how long that cut will be. That is, in California and other non-right-to-work states.
Yeah, it sucks - especially having to work by the clock instead of flexing your working schedule around the task requirements and personal situations. But depending on your work situation (i.e., if you are dependent on a contract, or working semi-independently as an on-call or shift service provider, or just a regular old 9-to-5 company cog), it might not have any actual effect on your employment at all - or it could be the first step in your employer's plan to provide workforce "flexibility" as the company is looking at how the future will be shaking out.
Your concerns should take into account how much you can trust your company and the potential future that is being considered. My situation was strictly due to California Labor Law, and is changing as I have moved up in my work responsibilities.
Haele
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