Veronica was an hourly employee at her store, but she was recently promoted and made a salaried employee. Her new salary is \( \$ 54,000 \) per year, and she is expected to work for 50 hours per week. Assuming she works every week of the year, how much does she earn per hour? \( \$ 20.77 \) \( \$ 24.15 \) \( \$ 23.46 \) \( \$ 21.60 \)

To find out how much Veronica earns per hour, we first need to calculate her total annual working hours. If she works 50 hours a week for 52 weeks, that totals \( 50 \times 52 = 2,600 \) hours per year. Now, we take her annual salary of \( \$ 54,000 \) and divide it by her total hours worked: \[ \frac{54,000}{2,600} \approx 20.77 \] So, she earns approximately \( \$ 20.77 \) per hour. Isn't it interesting how the transition from hourly to salaried can change one’s perspective of pay? Salaried positions often come with more responsibilities and expectations, so it's crucial for employees to consider the value of their time and effort, not just the hourly breakdown! Additionally, it's useful to know how this affects benefits and overtime. Salaried employees typically don’t receive overtime pay for hours worked beyond their contracted hours, which could be something to keep in mind when estimating work-life balance or negotiating salary.