Overtime employees are those workers who are entitled to receive overtime pay from their employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This Act is a federal law that requires employers to pay specifically identified workers overtime wages if the employee works more than forty hours per week. When an employee qualifies for overtime pay, the employer must pay 1.5 times the regular hourly wage. Many salaried employees are also entitled to overtime pay depending on their job and duties.
Many workers are almost always determined to be overtime employees. These employees include:
- Most type of “blue collar” workers or other manual laborers who perform work involving repetitive operations with their hands, physical skill and energy. Examples would include carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, iron workers, craftsmen, construction workers, longshoremen, and laborers.
- Most non-management employees
- Most police officers, state troopers, detectives, paramedics, fire fighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and other “first responders.”
- Parole officers, probation officers, and park rangers
- Security guards
- Licensed practical nurses and Registered Nurses (RN)
- Hospital employees
- Paralegals, clerical staff, and secretaries
- Warehouse workers and maintenance personnel
- Customer service representatives and call center employees
While many employees are entitled to overtime pay, there are certain occupations or jobs that are “exempt” from minimum wage and overtime requirements. This means that employers are not required to pay these specifically identified workers the minimum or overtime wages. These “exempt” employees include:
- Management employees
- Administrative employees
- Physicians
- Lawyers
- Certain restaurant workers, like waitresses
- Outside salesman
- Agricultural workers
- Farm workers
- Taxi drivers
The job title or classification is not the determining factor as to whether a worker is entitled to overtime pay. The FLSA and individual state laws establish various tests and requirements to determine whether a worker is an overtime employee, that is, entitled to overtime pay for working more than 40 hours in a week. Two employees at the same company with similar positions and job duties may be treated separately under the FLSA. That is, one employee may be entitled to overtime pay and the other employee may not be entitled to those wages.
Our unpaid overtime lawyers will carefully evaluate your job and your work situation to determine whether you are an overtime employee that is entitled to receive overtime pay. If your employer owes you overtime wages for work performed, even dating several years back, we can file a claim for you to recover the unpaid wages that you are owed. We will represent you under our No Fee Promise, which means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.
Call us today at (800) 754-2795 to speak with our experienced and qualified Wage & Hour lawyers about your case. You can also complete the FREE UNPAID OVERTIME CASE REVIEW BOX and an attorney will contact you shortly. There are strict time deadlines for filing a lawsuit so it is important that you call right now!