Salaried Workers’ Overtime
Frequently, an employer offers to pay an employee a salary while touting the benefits of making more money or more flexibility. The employer will tell the employee that this is a badge of honor and that only because the employer trusts the employee to do good work and put in the long hours for success, that a salary is a reward. But this can be a trap. Many workers who are paid a salary by their employer are told that they are not entitled to overtime simply because they are paid a salary. This is a common misconception having to do with overtime claims.
Whether or not an employee is paid a salary does not determine whether he/she is entitled to overtime. Your status as a salaried employee just means that your employer pays you the same amount of money each week, without regard to how hard you are working.
Your eligibility for overtime depends on whether you are an “exempt” employee. Exempt employees are not entitled to be paid overtime. Exempt employees are professionals (attorneys, physicians, engineers and the like), managerial personnel (people whose main function is to hire, fire, and supervise other employees (this does not include all persons whose job title contains the word “manager”)), and administrative personnel (people who are not involved in dealing with a business’s customers, but are behind the scenes in running the inner workings of the business and have substantial authority to make important decisions for the business).
Even if Your Employer Pays You a Salary
You May Still Be Entitled to Overtime If:
- You do not supervise 2 or more employees
- You do not have the power to hire or fire employees
- You do not work as a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or other professional
- You do not have the power to make important business decisions
- You do not work in an office environment
- You perform labor with your hands
- You spend your day following instructions from your boss
- You do not make over $684.00 per week
If you are paid a salary and wonder if you are entitled to overtime pay, click here for a free evaluation of your potential claim by an overtime attorney.
