How Does Overtime Work with Salary?

According to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Labor in early March 2019, more than a million American workers may be affected by a proposed rule regarding compensation for overtime work with salary employees.

How Does Overtime Work with Salary?

According to the rules set in place by the Department of Labor, employers must pay overtime wages at a rate of one and a half times their hourly rate for every hour they work past 40 hours in a week.

Under current overtime rules, employees who are salaried below $23,660 annually or $455 per week are required to be paid for overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a week. This current rule was established in 2004.

In early March 2019, the Department of Labor announced a possible update to this rule. Under the new proposed rule, the salary eligibility would be raised to include workers who make $35,308 per year or $679 per week.

The proposal was developed after public input collected from six in-person listening sessions held with civilians around the country, as well as more than 200,000 comments received in a 2017 Request for Information. According to the information gathered from these public forums, most people are in favor of an update to the current compensation levels for overtime work with salary.

As well as increasing the eligible salary levels for receiving overtime pay, the new proposal also includes a commitment to periodically review the salary levels and update the eligibility requirements. Until the proposed rule was announced, the regulations concerning overtime pay and eligible employees had not been updated in decades, despite significant changes to the ways American workers are compensated by their employers.

Who Is Eligible for Overtime Pay?

Employees are classified as exempt or non-exempt. Non-exempt employees are entitled to receive overtime pay, while exempt employees in certain fields who make a set amount of money are not entitled to this additional pay. Workers who would not be affected under the updated overtime rules include:

• Police Officers
• Firefighters
• Paramedics
• Nurses
• Laborers
• Maintenance workers
• Iron workers
• Construction workers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics, and plumbers

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employees who are exempt from being paid overtime may have to meet several requirements. These requirements include being paid a salary, holding a “white collar” job, and being paid more than the minimum weekly salary set by the Department of Labor. Most employees are classified as non-exempt and are entitled to benefits and overtime pay.

It may be complicated and difficult to determine whether you are an exempt or non-exempt worker. Hiring a qualified attorney may be the first step in determining whether you have been subject to wage and hour violations if you have not been paid for overtime. Victims who have not been paid their owed overtime may be able to collect this money from their employers through a lawsuit, as well as additional compensation for the violations.

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