The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments.
Basic Wage Standards
Covered, nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (effective July 24, 2009). Nonexempt workers must be paid overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times their regular rates of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek.
Wages required by the FLSA are due on the regular payday for the pay period covered. Deductions made from wages for such items as cash or merchandise shortages, employer-required uniforms, and tools of the trade, are not legal to the extent that they reduce the wages of employees below the minimum rate required by the FLSA or reduce the amount of overtime pay due under the FLSA.
The FLSA does, however, contain some exemptions from these basic standards. Some apply to specific types of businesses; others apply to specific kinds of work.
While the FLSA sets basic minimum wage and overtime pay standards and regulates the employment of minors, there are a number of employment practices which the FLSA does not regulate.
For example, the FLSA does not require:
- Vacation, holiday, severance, or sick pay;
- Meal or rest periods, holidays off, or vacations;
- Premium pay for weekend or holiday work;
- Pay raises or fringe benefits; or
- A discharge notice, reason for discharge, or immediate payment of final wages to terminated employees.
The FLSA also does not limit the number of hours in a day or days in a week an employee may be required or scheduled to work, including overtime hours, if the employee is at least 16 years old.
When Is Overtime Pay Required?
An employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such overtime work.
Basic Overtime Pay Requirments
Unless specifically exempted, employees covered by the FLSA must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay.
There is no limit in the FLSA on the number of hours employees aged 16 and older may work in any workweek, and the FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest.
The FLSA applies on a workweek basis. An employee’s workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours — seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It does not need to coincide with the calendar week, but may begin on any day and at any hour of the day. Different workweeks may be established for different employees or groups of employees.
Averaging of hours over two or more weeks is not permitted. Generally, overtime pay earned in a particular workweek must be paid on the regular pay day for the pay period in which the wages were earned.
The regular rate of pay cannot be less than the minimum wage. The regular rate includes all remuneration for employment except certain payments excluded by the FLSA.
Payments which are not part of the regular rate include pay for expenses incurred on the employer’s behalf, premium payments for overtime work or the true premiums paid for work on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, discretionary bonuses, gifts and payments in the nature of gifts on special occasions, and payments for occasional periods when no work is performed due to vacation, holidays, or illness.
Earnings may be determined on a piece-rate, salary, commission, or some other basis, but in all such cases the overtime pay due must be computed on the basis of the average hourly rate derived from such earnings. This is calculated by dividing the total pay for employment (except for the statutory exclusions noted above) in any workweek by the total number of hours actually worked.
Some Common Overtime Problems
Fixed Sum for Varying Amounts of Overtime: A lump sum paid for work performed during overtime hours without regard to the number of overtime hours worked does not qualify as an overtime premium even though the amount of money paid is equal to or greater than the sum owed on a per-hour basis.
For example, no part of a flat sum of $180 to employees who work overtime on Sunday will qualify as an overtime premium, even though the employees’ straight-time rate is $12.00 an hour and the employees always work less than 10 hours on Sunday.
Similarly, where an agreement provides for 6 hours pay at $13.00 an hour regardless of the time actually spent for work on a job performed during overtime hours, the entire $78.00 must be included in determining the employees’ regular rate.
Salary for Workweek Exceeding 40 Hours: A fixed salary for a regular workweek longer than 40 hours does not discharge FLSA statutory obligations.
For example, an employee may be hired to work a 45 hour workweek for a weekly salary of $405. In this instance the regular rate is obtained by dividing the $405 straight-time salary by 45 hours, resulting in a regular rate of $9.00. The employee is then due additional overtime computed by multiplying the 5 overtime hours by one-half the regular rate of pay ($4.50 x 5 = $22.50).
Overtime Pay May Not Be Waived: The overtime requirement may not be waived by agreement between the employer and employees. An agreement that only 8 hours a day or only 40 hours a week will be counted as working time also fails the test of FLSA compliance.
An announcement by the employer that no overtime work will be permitted, or that overtime work will not be paid for unless authorized in advance, also will not impair the employee’s right to compensation for compensable overtime hours that are worked.
Improperly Calculating Overtime for Tipped Employees: An employer that takes a tip credit by paying a direct (or cash) wage less than the minimum wage erroneously calculates the overtime premium using only the reduced direct (or cash) wage paid.
When an employer takes a tip credit, overtime must be calculated based on the full minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 an hour, not the lower direct (or cash) wage payment. The employer may not take a larger tip credit for an overtime hour than for a straight time hour. Under certain circumstances, an employer may be able to claim an additional overtime tip credit against its overtime obligations.
An employer does not include all service charges, commissions, bonuses, and other remuneration in the regular rate for purposes of computing overtime pay.
Overtime Pay Exemptions
Some employees are exempt from the overtime pay provisions or both the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions.
The following are some examples of overtime pay exemptions; they are not all-inclusive, and these examples do not define the conditions for each exemption.
Exemptions from Both Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay
Exemptions from Overtime Pay Only
- Certain commissioned employees of retail or service establishments; auto, truck, trailer, farm implement, boat, or aircraft sales-workers; or parts-clerks and mechanics servicing autos, trucks, or farm implements, who are employed by non-manufacturing establishments primarily engaged in selling these items to ultimate purchasers;
- Employees of railroads and air carriers, taxi drivers, certain employees of motor carriers, seamen on American vessels, and local delivery employees paid on approved trip rate plans;
- Announcers, news editors, and chief engineers of certain non-metropolitan broadcasting stations;
- Domestic service workers living in the employer’s residence; and
- Employees of motion picture theaters.
Partial Exemptions from Overtime Pay
- Partial overtime pay exemptions apply to employees engaged in certain operations on agricultural commodities and to employees of certain bulk petroleum distributors.
- Hospitals and residential care establishments may adopt, by agreement with their employees, a 14-day work period instead of the usual 7-day workweek if the employees are paid at least time and one-half their regular rates for hours worked over 8 in a day or 80 in a 14-day work period, whichever is the greater number of overtime hours.
- Employees who lack a high school diploma, or who have not attained the educational level of the 8th grade, can be required to spend up to 10 hours in a workweek engaged in remedial reading or training in other basic skills without receiving time and one-half overtime pay for these hours. However, the employees must receive their normal wages for hours spent in such training and the training must not be job specific.
- Public agency fire departments and police departments may establish a work period ranging from 7 to 28 days in which overtime need only be paid after a specified number of hours in each work period.
Computing Overtime Pay
Overtime must be paid at a rate of at least one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for each hour worked in a workweek in excess of the maximum allowable in a given type of employment. Generally, the regular rate includes all payments made by the employer to or on behalf of the employee (except for certain statutory exclusions).
The following examples are based on a maximum 40-hour workweek which applies to most covered nonexempt employees.
Hourly rate – (regular pay rate for an employee paid by the hour) – If more than 40 hours are worked, at least one and one-half times the regular rate for each hour over 40 is due.
Example: An employee paid $8.00 an hour works 44 hours in a workweek. The employee is entitled to at least one and one-half times $8.00, or $12.00, for each hour over 40. Pay for the week would be $320 for the first 40 hours, plus $48.00 for the four hours of overtime – a total of $368.00.
Piece rate – The regular rate of pay for an employee paid on a piecework basis is obtained by dividing the total weekly earnings by the total number of hours worked in that week. The employee is entitled to an additional one-half times this regular rate for each hour over 40, plus the full piecework earnings.
Example: An employee paid on a piecework basis works 45 hours in a week and earns $405. The regular rate of pay for that week is $405 divided by 45, or $9.00 an hour. In addition to the straight-time pay, the employee is also entitled to $4.50 (half the regular rate) for each hour over 40 – an additional $22.50 for the 5 overtime hours – for a total of $427.50.
Another way to compensate pieceworkers for overtime, if agreed to before the work is performed, is to pay one and one-half times the piece rate for each piece produced during the overtime hours. The piece rate must be the one actually paid during nonovertime hours and must be enough to yield at least the minimum wage per hour.
Salary – The regular rate for an employee paid a salary for a regular or specified number of hours a week is obtained by dividing the salary by the number of hours for which the salary is intended to compensate. The employee is entitled to an additional one-half times this regular rate for each hour over 40, plus the salary.
If, under the employment agreement, a salary sufficient to meet the minimum wage requirement in every workweek is paid as straight time for whatever number of hours are worked in a workweek, the regular rate is obtained by dividing the salary by the number of hours worked each week.
For example, suppose an employee’s hours of work vary each week and the agreement with the employer is that the employee will be paid $480 a week for whatever number of hours of work are required. Under this agreement, the regular rate will vary in overtime weeks.
If the employee works 50 hours, the regular rate is $9.60 ($480 divided by 50 hours). In addition to the salary, half the regular rate, or $4.80, is due for each of the 10 overtime hours, for a total of $528 for the week. If the employee works 60 hours, the regular rate is $8.00 ($480 divided by 60 hours). In that case, an additional $4.00 is due for each of the 20 overtime hours for a total of $560 for the week.
In no case may the regular rate be less than the minimum wage required by the FLSA.
If a salary is paid on other than a weekly basis, the weekly pay must be determined in order to compute the regular rate and overtime pay. If the salary is for a half month, it must be multiplied by 24 and the product divided by 52 weeks to get the weekly equivalent. A monthly salary should be multiplied by 12 and the product divided by 52.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, HRGFLSA; Fact Sheet 23.
Did You Work Overtime and Not Get Paid?
If you worked overtime and your employer failed to pay you for overtime hours, your rights under the FLSA may have been violated.
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