LAWS BY VIOLATION

Basing Overtime Eligibility on More or Less Than One Week

The FLSA applies on a workweek basis. An employer is required to pay overtime to all non-exempt employees for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. An employee’s workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours – seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It need not 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. Normally, 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.

Exception for Hospitals – hospitals may pay non-exempt employees the overtime rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 80 hours in a designated 14-day work period or more than 8 hours in a workday. There must be a prior agreement between the employer and employee for this arrangement.

A common violation occurs when non-hospital employers determine whether overtime is due based on a two-week time period. In other words, did the employee work over 80 hours in a two-week period.

If your employer is not determining whether you are entitled to overtime based on a single workweek, contact your overtime lawyers today.

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