Requirements for overtime pay
My daughter works in a jewelery company in NYC. She is classified as an exempt employee, and her salary is $28,000 per year. She is not supervising other employees and is doing routine specification work. She is often required to work until 8 or 9 at night and some Saturdays, exceeding 40 hours per week often by 8-10 hours. Should she be receiving overtime pay?
1 answer | asked Jul 19, 2005 6:40 PM [EST] | applies to New York
Answers (1)
When Employees are Entitled to Overtime
Some employers think that all they have to do to make an hourly employee an exempt employee (not entitled to overtime) is simply start paying that employee a salary. It doesn't work that way.
Whether an employee is entitled to overtime is governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Generally, all employees are considered to be non-exempt and entitled to overtime, unless particular employees fall into an exemption to the FLSA.
There are a number of exemptions, but the big three are for executives, professionals, and administrative employees.
Administrative is the category most abused. Some employers think that even file clerks are administrative. After all, isn't there work administrative in nature?
The work may be administrative in a lay person's sense, but it isn't administrative under the FLSA. Administrative employees, under the FLSA and its regulations, work under conditions giving them a fair amount of discretion and authority. Although they may not be high level employees themselves, they nonetheless work in an environment that is pretty high level. A good example of an administrative employee might be the personal secretary of a high level executive.
So, unless an employee falls into an exemption, employees generally are entitled to overtime for time exceeding 40 hours in any workweek.
posted by David M. Lira | Jul 20, 2005 08:31 AM [EST]
Some employers think that all they have to do to make an hourly employee an exempt employee (not entitled to overtime) is simply start paying that employee a salary. It doesn't work that way.
Whether an employee is entitled to overtime is governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Generally, all employees are considered to be non-exempt and entitled to overtime, unless particular employees fall into an exemption to the FLSA.
There are a number of exemptions, but the big three are for executives, professionals, and administrative employees.
Administrative is the category most abused. Some employers think that even file clerks are administrative. After all, isn't there work administrative in nature?
The work may be administrative in a lay person's sense, but it isn't administrative under the FLSA. Administrative employees, under the FLSA and its regulations, work under conditions giving them a fair amount of discretion and authority. Although they may not be high level employees themselves, they nonetheless work in an environment that is pretty high level. A good example of an administrative employee might be the personal secretary of a high level executive.
So, unless an employee falls into an exemption, employees generally are entitled to overtime for time exceeding 40 hours in any workweek.
posted by David M. Lira | Jul 20, 2005 08:31 AM [EST]
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