Depending on the size of your salary, you still may be entitled to time-and-a-half if you work more than 40 hours a week. Public policy discourages misclassification by employers who may declare someone salaried, not hourly, to avoid paying overtime. If your employer is committing wage theft, give us a call. Let the law straighten them out.

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule on this issue last year, which is now in effect. It raises the minimum salary that white-collar employees must be paid to qualify as exempt from the overtime rules in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

It raises the minimum salary level from $455 to $684 a week ($23,660 to $35,568 annually) for exempt employees. To be considered exempt under the law, an employee must perform administrative, executive, or professional duties. If you earn a salary less than $35,568 a year but work more than 40 hours/week, you are entitled to be paid overtime. The DOL estimates that 1.3 million US workers will be eligible for overtime pay under the new guidelines.

Employers can use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentives (including commissions) paid at least annually to satisfy up to 10% of a white-collar employee’s required salary level to meet exempt requirements.

An employer’s options when it has salaried employees working more than 40 hours/week, but they make less than $35,568, include:

• Raising the salary to more than $35,568, thereby making the employee ineligible for overtime
• Make the necessary overtime payments for all those who qualify
• Limit these lower-paid salaried employees to less than 40 hours/week, which requires accurate time records

If you’re close to making $35,568 and work a lot of hours, the first option makes the most sense for the employer. If your work is predictably 40 hours or less, then overtime payments, if and when the need arises, could make sense.

The third option raises the danger of management demanding more than 40 hours’ worth of work while officially telling employees they’re limited to working that number of hours. This does happen!!  Employers make threats, employees go along with it.  Similar to situations when management exploits hourly workers by failing to pay them overtime, salaried employees may falsify time records keep their jobs.  Do not let that happen to you!! Give us a call; let the law straighten them out.

If your employer is cheating you out of overtime pay, speak with us and decide what to do next. An employer violates the law if it retaliates against an employee who complains about wage and hour issues.  We will represent you.  You could leave and find a new position with a law-abiding employer. If you work many hours but aren’t being properly compensated and want, or need, to keep your job, we can help you through the legal process.

Bottom line:  If you believe your employer is breaking the law by failing to pay you overtime; forcing you to work overtime but report as if you had not, or you have questions about the law in your situation, please contact our Kingston office. You may reach us online or via email. If you want to arrange a consultation, we accept credit cards and offer general appointments from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, plus evening appointments during the week by pre-arrangement only. As long as Covid-19 is with us, those appointments will be by Zoom or phone only, not in person.