Am I entitled to overtime pay?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Am I entitled to overtime pay?
I have worked as a store manager for over 3 years, I was required to work 52 hours a week and was paid a weekly salary but the majority of the time I actually worked more hours. And though I was paid as a manager, 90% of my work consisted of unloading trucks, stocking shelves, and resetting the store. I was given a set amount of hours for me to give my other employees and the extra hours had to be worked by me. I was forced to work in my store the majority of the time by myself and still meet the deadlines within the time frame the company expected. If we were short handed I was required to cover those hours as well and still received the same salary regardless of the amount of hours that I worked.
Asked on February 28, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Oklahoma
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Under the "Executive" exemption for overtime (which really should be called the "managerial" exemption, since it applies to non-executive managers), to be exempt:
1) You had to be paid a salary of at least $455/week;
2) Your primary or main duty or responsibiltiy had to be management--not that you could not also personally do work, including manual work, but the most important part of your job had to be management;
3) You had to manage at least 2 full time employees, or their equiavalent in part time staff (e.g. 4 1/2-time employees; 1 full time and 2 1/2-time; etc.);
4) As part of managing other staff, you had to have at least meaningful input into hiring, firing, and discipline (you did not have to have the final say so long as your input was strongly considered).
Assuming you met these criteria, you were exempt from overtime. If you did not meet all these criteria, then even though you were salaried, you should have received extra pay (overtime) when working more than 40 hours per week. You can recover back overtime for up to two (2) years, so potentially, you could seek 12 hours (or more) per week (based on 52 hours/week, as you write) for 52 weeks (or less if you took vacations) for 2 years, or up to around 1,200 or so hours of overtime, give or take. If you feel that may be the case, consult with an employment attorney about possibly suing.
Here is a link to a Dept. of Labor (DOL) FAQ sheet about this exemption: https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime/fs17b_executive.pdf
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.