Common Overtime Violations

Employees who are non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must be paid an overtime rate for any hours they work beyond the standard 40-hour workweek. What this means is that the employee must be paid at one and one-half times his or her regular rate of pay for each hour of overtime worked. For example, if an employee in Ohio works for minimum wage at $9.30 per hour and works 50 hours in a single workweek, the first 40 of those hours must be paid at the minimum wage and the employee’s regular pay rate (of $9.30 per hour), but the additional 10 hours worked must be paid at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay, or $13.95 per hours.

In some cases, overtime violations will be obvious. For example, an employee might routinely work and log more than 40 hours per week, but the employer might continue to pay the employee’s regular rate for the hours worked beyond the 40-hour workweek. In other circumstances, however, overtime violations might not be as obvious to employees. The following are common overtime violations employees should know about.

Asking Employees to Work Off the Clock 

An employer cannot ask an employee to work off the clock when the employee is not being paid. If an employee does any type of work-related tasks for an employee outside his or her regular schedule, the employee must be paid for this time, and it must count toward the 40-hour workweek total. Accordingly, if an employee’s off-the-clock hours puts that employee over a 40-hour workweek, that employee must be paid overtime.

Failure to Pay Overtime to Salaried Employees Who Are Non-Exempt 

Just because an employee receives a “salary” does not necessarily mean that the employee does not need to be paid for overtime. In order for an employee to be ineligible for overtime pay rates when she or he is salaried, that employee must meet the FLSA salary basis requirement or fall into one of the exemptions identified in the FLSA. Otherwise, if a salaried employee is not exempt, that employee must still be paid overtime.

Misclassifying an Employee as an Independent Contractor 

Employees must be paid overtime under the FLSA, but independent contractors are not entitled to overtime pay. In some situations, an employer will misclassify an employee as an independent contractor either by mistake or in order to avoid paying overtime wages. Either way, failing to pay overtime to an employee who has been misclassified as an independent contractor is a wage and hour violation under the FLSA.

Requiring Employees to Waive a Right to Overtime 

Employees cannot waive their right to overtime pay under the FLSA. If your employer has requested that you waive your right to overtime pay, you may be owed overtime pay as a result of an FLSA violation.

Contact a Columbus Wage and Hour Lawyer 

If you should have been paid overtime, you may have an FLSA claim. An experienced Columbus wage and hour attorney at our firm can assess your case for you today. Contact Brian G. Miller CO, L.P.A. to learn more.

Resource:

dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa