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Here's how much extra pay salaried workers are due for their extra day of work on Leap Day this year.

By MSN Money Partner Feb 29, 2012 2:13PM

This post comes from Danielle Kurtzleben at partner site U.S. News & World Report.

Leap year brings an extra day to get things done, try something new and work for free.

While hourly workers are given an extra day for earnings this year, salaried workers will get the same pay as a regular, 365-day year.

So how much money are salaried American workers missing out on when they put in that extra shift?

There are 261 weekdays in 2012 with the inclusion of leap day. (There are also holidays, but many companies consider those "paid" holidays, and some workers have to work those days, anyway.) So, for example, dividing a reporter's average yearly salary of $43,780 by 260 (leap day minus one) reveals that an extra day of that reporter's work is worth 168 extra dollars. That reporter's editor, meanwhile, is missing out on 228 extra dollars this year, given an average salary of $59,340.

In contrast, bigwigs like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Whole Foods CEO John Mackey are owed an extra 0.4 cents since they accept annual salaries of only $1. (Post continues below.)

Below is a list of workers and, if salaried on an annual basis, how much they are missing out on due to Leap Day:

Secretaries and administrative assistants (excluding legal, medical and executive): $123
Reporter: $168
Clergy: $186
High school teacher (except special and career/technical education): $215
Editor: $228
Registered nurse: $260
Network and computer systems administrator: $278
Airline pilot: $443
Doctor (general practitioner): $669
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: $82.
Speaker of the House John Boehner: $860
Surgeon: $867
President Barack Obama: $1,538
Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs: $7,692 (reflects 2011 $2 million base salary only, not total $9 million disclosed 2011 pay package).

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32Comments

Newest

Feb 29, 2012 5:28PM

Seeing as how most salaried employees make pretty good money, and get tons of paid holidays, sick leave, maternity leave, all paid... that's something most hourly employees do NOT have. IOW, I have no sympathy here. PLUS!!! it's a short month anyway, and they're getting paid the same as if it had 31 days. This article = failure

Previous replies

Marine CWO

Feb 29, 2012 5:14PM

Very poor table after article. A Supreme court justice should be $822. Secretaries and assistants would be hourly pay as they have no manager responsiblilites and are not exempt. School teachers are not shorted any pay as they still teach the same number of school days per year. Most registered nurses are hourly.

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Just Be Happy Please

Feb 29, 2012 5:11PM

This story is idiotic. I don't know anyone who has a pay period of a full year, so the extra day is irrelevant in relation to days worked vs. days paid. Salaried people are usually paid bi-weekly or weekly, the number of days in the year don't matter. Example, if you get paid weekly every Friday your probably paid for the previous weeks 5 days work, Monday to Friday. Just because this is a leap year does not mean you worked 6 days this week and are only getting paid for 5, you worked 5 and you will get paid for 5. End of story. So how do I know I'm right, because the liberal left wing Obama lovers would be rioting in the streets if, God forbid, they worked an extra day and did not get paid for it!

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DexterGreen

Feb 29, 2012 5:11PM

Salaried employees work for a salary; they do not get paid by the hour, even if one were to divide the salary by hours worked. Some weeks one may work a little more; other weeks maybe less. That's the salary; live with it, and be thankful for a job. Isn't there a Biblical passage dealing with workers being hired for a "penny a day" ? Some worked longer and others less, but they worked for a penny a day.

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mikeantny

Feb 29, 2012 5:09PM

We still get our weekly salary. There is not an extra day in the week. Companies take your annual salary and divide it by 52 to get your weekly gross. We get that every week. In essence, we do get paid the extra day. My paycheck this week is not a day short.

Non Leap Year

52000 (example) / 52 weeks = 1000 per week or 142.85 / day.

Jan 1 is a Monday (example)

Dec 31 is a Monday

Dec 31 goes on paycheck for Dec 31 - Jan 6.

Paid 52 weeks + 1 day = 52142.85

Leap Year

Jan 1 is a Monday

Dec 31 is a Tuesday

Dec 30 & 31 goes on paycheck for Dec 30 - Jan 5.

Paid 52 weeks + 2 days - 52285.70

Previous replies

Kevins432

Feb 29, 2012 5:08PM

shoulda called out sick today. too late now.

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marck23

Feb 29, 2012 5:01PM

Mike 233, you are a little slow. Salaried workers are base off a full year, that would be 365 days. This year there is 366 days so you are getting payed less per day. Days of the month have no part in the equation.

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Show1

Feb 29, 2012 4:52PM

Giovan...I work for a manufacturing company here in the US. YESS..there is still manufacturing done here. Not assembly line robot style work. But real hand made products that we sell to the public.

Few people take pride or are willing to pay the price for American made products. Look at your TV, your DVD, and maybe even your car. That's why this country is such a mess now.

Previous replies

Reality201

Feb 29, 2012 4:49PM

The people who are on salary do not work 40 hour work weeks like hourly employees.

I had a job that went from 45 to 50 hours when I was paid hourly to working 65 to 70 hours when I was on salary. The extra $50 a week did not make up for the extra hours.

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Mike 233

Feb 29, 2012 4:31PM

Give me a break on the "extra" day for salaried workers having to work. By your logic then each worker should get 1 2 or 3 days more pay? The months do not only have 28 days. They all do. One every four years has 29. 4 have 30 days and the rest have 31.

What point are you trying to make?

Previous replies

meo54343

Feb 29, 2012 4:20PM

Making cars/gas/TVs are all done by robots now. This is because its so easy to program a robot to do repetitious menial work that its cheaper than hiring a person.

The jobs that are listed all require certain trade skills and experience, and all of them are jobs that need the immense parallel and spatial processing of the human brain in case "the plan" goes awry and emergency training has to kick in.

Airplanes? Yeah, let's keep pilots for emergencies, good idea.

Hospitals? I think Nurses and Doctors are probably a good thing to keep there in case some medication doesn't work properly or there is an unknown diagnosis that needs to be treated.

Computer related controller? Well, you can automate it, but you can't guarantee it won't screw up so you have to keep someone around to fix the things that weren't properly programmed or automated.

Teachers? Yeah, being able to shift from topic to topic is something that requires humans, and judgment calls are made all the time regarding discipline, helping weak students, challenging advanced students, etc...

Clergy? They have to do their standard preaching, helping, hypocrisy. Robots are very bad at that kind of stuff.

Government officials? Someone has to make laws, judge them, execute them, enforce them, take money under the table from special interests, and have a coke party with hookers.

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giovannitsil

Feb 29, 2012 2:43PM

Aren't there anymore people in his country who make things? Not like this list of money processors. People who make cars, gasoline, tvs, etc. All these people do is take someone elses money and do a service. THEY CREATE NO ECONOMIC WEALTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Previous replies

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