What is the overtime law?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What is the overtime law?

I get paid bi-weekly and I talked to my management about overtime pay because I have been working 2 weeks straight which is over 40 hours a week. And they told me the only way I qualify for

overtime is if I’ve been working 80 hours in those two weeks and anything over 80 hours is overtime and that even if I work 40 hours in the first week and the second week I work less than 40 hours I still won’t get overtime because it doesn’t match up to 80 hours in those 2 weeks. Is this correct? Can they do that – reject overtime because I didn’t work 80 hours in 2 weeks even if i had worked over 40 in the first?

Asked on May 14, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

They are incorrect: overtime is determined *by week*, not by pay period. Assuming you are not exempt from overtime (if you are paid on an hourly basis, you are not exempt--that is, hourly employees get overtime), then any time you work more than 40 hours in a week, the law (e.g. the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA) requires that you receive overtime (time-and-half) for all time worked past 40 hours. So, if you worked 50 hours in week 1 and  30 hours in week 2, you get 10 hours overtime for week 1. If your employer will not pay you this money, try contracting the departmet of labor; alternatively, you could sue for unpaid overtime.


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.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption