Am I eligible for overtime?
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Am I eligible for overtime?
I work for a lobbying firm as an administrative
assistant in DC. I make less than 45,000 a year and
am supposed to work 8 hour days/40 hour weeks.
On average I work 9-10 hours a day with 1-2 of
those days being 12 hour days. After the 8 hour
mark, I dont receive any pay. Ive asked repeatedly
about my overtime but I keep getting sidelined by the
office manager, stating she doesnt know about the
over time policy. In addition, I must answer and work
on weekends/after hours when they ask, although
this was not in my contract and I am doing it for free.
Asked on June 12, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, District of Columbia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
If you are not exempt from overtime, you must be paid overtime when working more than 40 hours in a week. (Only total weekly hours, not daily hours, matter.)
If you are paid on an hourly (not salary) basis you are not exempt and receive overtime.
Even if you are paid on a salary basis, you may be non-exempt and so overtime eligible. To be exempt from (that is, not get) ovetime, in additition to being paid a salary, not hourly, you must meet one or more of the "exemptions" which you can find on the U.S. Dept. of Labor website under "overtime." Look those exemptions up and compare to your job (duties, authority, responsibility, etc.). If you meet one of those exemptions, you are exempt and do not get overtime; if you do not meet at least one, you would get overtime. The most relevant one for you is likely the "administrative employee" exemption.
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