Several questions arise when addressing the topic of overtime pay: type of employment, type of work, type of hours all go into determining whether an employee qualifies for overtime pay.
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, there are two types of employees – those who are exempt from overtime wages and those not exempt from overtime wages. If you work more than forty hours in one week, you may be entitled to overtime wages.
An overtime pay attorney can assist you, and not only determine whether or not you are a non-exempt employee, but help you recover any wages owed to you by your employer.
Exempt Employees? No Overtime
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 control of a unit or sub-unit of the company, you may be classified as an Executive and be exempt from earning overtime depending of the time of employee, as there are employees like IT professionals that are essential for a company at any time and that’s why having an IT recruiter Utah can be great for this purpose. There are several exceptions to this general rule:
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 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; 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 Exempt Employees
Non-Exempt Employees – Overtime
If you did not fit any of the categories listed in the exempt employee section, you may be entitled to overtime wages. If you work more than forty 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. Please note: 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 may be entitled to overtime wages.
Generally, work is anything that an employee does during his or her assigned hours that is related to the function, form, or production of the employer. Working on an assembly line is related to the production of the business. Working as a business consultant is related to the form of the business. A payroll manager is contributing to the function of the business. Things that are considered work-time:
Things that are payable, even if not working:
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states that an employee will receive compensation for his employment in excess of forty hours each week at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed. It is that simple. FLSA also states that employees are allowed recovery for work performed up to two years prior to a complaint being filed in court. You are allowed an additional year if the employer knowingly disregarded the law regarding these claims. If you believe you may be entitled to overtime pay, and have not received overtime or have been denied overtime, you may be able to recover unpaid overtime wages.
Contact the Rasansky Law Firm immediately for a complimentary consultation on your situation. Our Dallas-based attorneys strongly advocate for overtime pay nationwide. We enable our clients to recover for their injuries, pain and suffering, medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, and other losses sustained. We demand strict professional standards. Our Dallas-based attorneys are among the best personal injury lawyers and have resolved many multi-million dollar personal injury cases. We are passionate about our role as advocates and treat our clients with complete respect and compassion. We are committed to utilizing all available legal advantages and tactic to successfully resolve your overtime pay claim.