Section 7(i) was enacted to relieve an employer from the obligation
of paying overtime compensation to certain employees of a retail or
service establishment paid wholly or in greater part on the basis of
commissions. These employees are generally employed in so-called ``big
ticket'' departments and those establishments or parts of establishments
where commission methods of payment traditionally have been used,
typically those dealing in furniture, bedding and home furnishings,
floor covering, draperies, major appliances, musical instruments, radios
and television, men's clothing, women's ready to wear, shoes, corsets,
home insulation, and various home custom orders. There may be other
segments in retailing where the proportionate amount of commission
payments would be great enough for employees employed in such segments
to come within the exemption. Each such situation will be examined,
where exemption is claimed, to make certain the employees treated as
exempt from overtime compensation under section 7(i) are properly within
the statutory exclusion.
