According to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, there are only two types of employees - those exempt from overtime wages and those not exempt from overtime wages. If you work more than 40 hours in one week, you may very well be entitled to overtime wages. We?re here to help you not only determine whether or not you are a non-exempt employee but also to help you recover the wages that your employer may have kept from you.

Exempt employees

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), an exempt employee is anyone who is both paid on salary and performs the duties of an exempt employee.

Most exempt duties fall under three different categories: Executive, Professional, and Administrative.

Executive

If you regularly supervise two or more full-time employees *and* you are ?in charge? of a unit or sub-unit of the company, you may be classified as an Executive and be exempt from earning overtime. There are several exceptions to this general rule:

If you are an ?assistant manager? and your manager is always present, even though you supervise two or more employees, you may be entitled to overtime pay because your manager is ultimately responsible.

A ?line manager? or other similar title that does not grant you supervisory rights is not exempt from being paid overtime.

If you do not supervise two or more full-time employees, but you supervise multiple part-time employees, you may be exempted from overtime pay if you supervise 80 hours worth of employee time or more in one week.

Professional

If your job utilizes advanced, typically highly-specialized, training or education, you may be exempt from overtime wages. Such professions include doctors, engineers, teachers, accountants, and attorneys.

However, these are not the only professions exempted. If your work requires you to regularly make decisions using good judgment, discretion, and your highly-advanced training, you may be exempt from earning overtime wages.

Administrative

If you perform office work that supports the business and requires you to make business decisions, you may fall under the administrative category of exempt employees. Payroll administrators would be a good example of an exempt employee whereas a secretary or receptionist would not be exempt from earning overtime wages. Secretaries and receptionists typically do not exercise judgment on decisions which affect the business.

The key to this category is whether or not the individual makes decisions which effect the overall operation of the business and not just a single executive or professional. Other examples of employees who may be exempt would be Director of Human Resources, Corporate Buyer, and Bookkeeper.

Other Exempt Employees

If you work for your family in agricultural production, you are not entitled to overtime pay (and you may not be entitled to minimum wage pay, either).

If you perform work for a labor organization and are not employed by that labor organization (for instance, picketing for your union while on strike) you are not entitled to overtime wages. However, if you are employed by the labor organization (such as an agent or administrative assistant) then you may be non-exempt and entitled to overtime wages.

Non-Exempt Employees

If you did not fit any of the categories listed in the ?Exempt Employees? section, you may be entitled to overtime wages. Generally, if you work more than 40 hours in one week, each subsequent hour is paid as ?time-and-one-half?. For instance, if you make $8 per hour, you would make $12 per hour after your regular 40 hours of work.

We should note that hourly employees are not the only ones who are entitled to overtime wages. If you are a salaried employee that does not perform ?exempt? duties then you, too, may be entitled to overtime wages.

If you or someone you know feel that you could be Entitled To Overtime Wages and have been denied overtime pay, you may be able to Recover Unpaid Overtime Wages.

There may be a Statute of Limitation that may apply to your situation that could affect your chance for Unpaid Overtime Wage Recovery.

Submit your claim for Unpaid Overtime to an Unpaid Overtime Lawyer at The Rasansky Law Firm at no cost to you.

For a more in depth look into Unpaid Overtime, please visit www.texasovertimelawyer.com, a Rasansky Law Firm speciality site devoted exclusively to Unpaid Overtime Wage Recovery.