Salary Overtime Laws
Currently, federal overtime laws prevent salaried employees from receiving overtime pay. This means that as a salary employee, you won’t be paid overtime for working more than 40 hours a week. However, just because you get paid by an annual salary rate does not mean that you are completely exempt from receiving overtime. This article explains in further detail the overtime laws for salaried employees.
Also Read: Everything You Need To Know About Overtime
FLSA Overtime Laws For Salaried Employees
Most states don’t have their own overtime laws, and will just follow the federal government’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In most cases, overtime is one and a half times an employee’s hourly rate during overtime. Salaried employees are usually paid annually instead of hourly, meaning your overtime is a little more complicated. As of January 1, 2020, salaried employees exempt from earning overtime must make more than $684 a week or $35,568, annually.
The easiest way to know whether or not a salaried employee is exempt is if they meet any of the following requirements:
- They’re paid on a salary basis.
- They earn more than $35,568 a year.
- They have executive, administrative, or office job duties.
Don’t panic if you’re an exempt employee and want to earn overtime, you can still earn some compensation for your hard worked hours. Salaried employees can still earn up to 10% of their annual earnings in non discretionary bonuses and incentives.
Also Read: Mandatory Overtime: Can You Be Forced To Work?
Who’s Considered A Salaried Employee
The exempt employees we’ve gone over thus far are exempt from earning overtime under federal law. Every state has different laws on overtime pay and exemptions. If your state doesn’t have specific regulations, the state will go by FLSA standards. Most salaried employees are what people will normally refer to as “white collar” employees. Here’s a more detailed breakdown on what that might look like:
- Executive and management positions: These positions are in charge of managing a department, subdivision, or cooperation. This employee is an authoritative figure to at least two employees, and can fire, hire, promote, or demote another employee.
- Administrative positions: These positions primarily involve office and non-manual work related to management or general business operations.
- Professional positions: These positions must require advance knowledge in a scientific or learning environment.
What To Do About Forced Overtime
There’s no law that says there’s a limit to how much your boss can force you to work. However, if you’ve spent endless hours at the office and have missed out on truly important things in your life, it may be time to do something about it.
You might not be able to get paid for the overtime you’ve worked as a salary employee, but you can report your boss for unfair treatment. Your boss regularly forcing you to work overtime fully knowing you won’t be paid is legal, but highly unethical. Your overtime hours aren’t a reflection on your work ethic, but an excessive amount of work that requires more staff.
There may be other unethical things your boss has done to you and your coworkers. Some of those things may even border on illegal. The partnered lawyers with My Case Helper would love to listen anytime.
Also Read: 7 Red Flags You Should Sue Your Bad Boss
