Which of the following is NOT a category of salary-based compensation?

Hourly wages are indeed not a category of salary-based compensation. Salary-based compensation typically refers to a fixed annual amount paid to employees, which can include various structures such as straight salary, salaries that include production bonuses, and those that incorporate discretionary or merit pay based on performance evaluations.

In contrast, hourly wages are typically tied to the number of hours worked and are considered an entirely different compensation structure. They are based on an employee’s hourly rate and can fluctuate based on the number of hours worked in a given pay period, making them variable unlike salary-based systems where the pay remains constant over the agreed period regardless of hours worked. This distinction is crucial for understanding how different compensation models operate within healthcare and other industries.