Overtime Compensation

Workers who are non-exempt under the FLSA’s overtime protections are entitled to receive overtime pay, which must be equal to at least one and a half times the worker’s regular hourly wage for any hours over 40 worked in one week. Additional protections may exist at the state level, such as overtime requirements for work on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays. Workers who are exempt from these protections are not eligible for overtime compensation.

Properly classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt is critical to determining eligibility for overtime pay. The list of exemptions is short and could be made even shorter in the future by new legislation. Workers who are exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements include:

• Executive, administrative, and professional workers earning not less than $684 per week, among other requirements
• Highly compensated workers who earn more than $107,432 per year
• Outside sales and computer employees
• “Blue-collar” workers who perform non-management, manual labor tasks
• Firefighters, police, paramedics, and other first responders

Overtime disputes may arise outside the classification issue as well. For instance, employees who must stand in security lines, put on safety equipment when they arrive and take it off before they leave, and participate in mandatory activities outside of scheduled work hours may be entitled to compensation for this time.

Intentionally denying or withholding overtime pay from workers is a form of wage theft, and employees subject to this unlawful practice can sue to vindicate their rights (and those of fellow workers). While accrued overtime may not result in significant underpayment each week, these seemingly minor amounts can add up to sizable losses over time. Moreover, a company-wide policy of failing to pay overtime involves multiple employees, and a class or collective action challenging such policies can recover significant unpaid wages on behalf of the employee class.