The Exempt Staff Council was formed in 1997 to provide an opportunity for employees of UT who are categorized as staff-exempt (exempt from provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act) to discuss and provide advice to administrators about issues pertinent to staff-exempt employees. An exempt staff ad hoc committee of the Faculty Senate was appointed in 1995 to consider establishment of such a group. That committee gathered information from other institutions about such organizations and drafted a set of bylaws (updated 2001).