Eligibility for Overtime
Whether you are eligible to be paid for working overtime can be a complicated question, and can be especially confusing when your situation strays out of the traditional 9 to 5 framework. For people who work long hours only infrequently, or are salaried workers that are expected to work far above a 40-hour work week, the rules and laws can be difficult to interpret, let alone to use as a tool with which ask your employer for overtime pay.
Fortunately, clear-cut federal law mandates overtime in many situations through the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires that certain employees must be paid time and a half their regular pay rate for any time worked over 40 hours in a single workweek. As we describe below, most hourly workers, even highly paid ones, are eligible for overtime pay as long as they are covered and not exempt from the FLSA. On top of the time and a half pay, hourly workers in New York that work more than 10 hours in a single shift or split shift must receive 1 additional hour of pay at the minimum wage rate.
Am I a Covered Employee?
Overtime law is designed broadly to protect as many employees as possible. Because of this, almost every hourly worker is eligible for overtime. Employees of any business with at least two employees, an annual volume of sales of at least $500,000, and is “engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce” that will go between the states are eligible under the FLSA. This covers just about every employee in just about every business.
I’m a covered employee – do I fit within an exemption that would prevent me from getting overtime?
There are a few exemptions to overtime pay, but most of these are for salaried work: almost all hourly labor is still covered under the FLSA. The most common exemptions under the FLSA are for workers that are in roles that are either:
- Executive: Related to the management of his or her employer’s business;
- Administrative: Directly related to the general business operations of his or her employer or the employer’s clients;
- Professional: Requiring specialized academic training for entry into a professional field such as law, medicine, etc.; and
- Outside Sales Employees: Sales employees that primarily work outside of their employer’s office.
There are a number of other specific exemptions from overtime protection listed here, which include a variety of narrow categories, such as police officers working in small towns, and sugar processing employees.
These exceptions cover a large number of white collar jobs, and as a result much salaried office work is not eligible for overtime pay (though most executive assistants and bookkeepers are eligible for overtime). In some cases, however, salaried employees may still be eligible for overtime if they are paid under a certain threshold. As of December of 2019, the FLSA updated the minimum yearly earnings that an employee must make in order for them to be exempt from overtime requirements to $35,568 per year ($684/weekly).
Employers that violate overtime laws are subject to fines, and sometimes plainly presenting the law or a single call from an attorney can get you the overtime that you are due.
For a consultation and assistance in determining whether you are owed overtime pay, or in seeking unpaid overtime pay from your employer, please contact Alex Granovsky at either (646) 524-6001 or info@g-s-law.com. You can also contact us through the chat pop-up below this article, and we will be happy to guide you through any issues you might be having.
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