WASHINGTON D.C — To calculate whether the amount of overtime pay that you are owed from your past or present employer, you first must establish that you are entitled to receive overtime pay wages. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that covered, nonexempt employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage for each hour worked and receive overtime pay at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Not all jobs or occupations qualify for overtime pay under the law, so you must first establish that your particular job does qualify under the law.
The FLSA contains a number of exemptions from its minimum wage and/or overtime pay requirements. An employee who is exempt from the overtime pay requirements is not entitled to receive FLSA overtime pay. Certain employees, like doctors and lawyers, do not have mandatory overtime pay requirements while other jobs, like call center employees and factory workers are entitled to overtime wages. In other job categories, like nursing, there are certain nurses who qualify for overtime wages and others who do not. It is not only hourly pay employees that must be paid overtime pay, but many salaried employees must receive overtime pay as well. Our experience overtime pay lawyers can determine whether you are a “covered” employee under the law and required to be paid your overtime wages.
In general, hours worked includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer’s premises or at any other prescribed place of work. Employers and employees cannot agree to waive overtime pay as it is a requirement under federal law. A workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, or seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It may begin on any day of the week and at any hour of the day. Each workweek stands alone; averaging hours worked over two or more workweeks is not permitted by the FLSA. The manner in which you get paid (weekly, bi-weekly, etc.) has no bearing on when your workweek starts or stops.
Once it is determined that your job qualifies for overtime pay and that you have worked beyond the regular workweek limit, the next step is to determine the actual amount of your wage. This is not always just your salary or hourly rate of pay, but can include other payments or goods furnished by your employer, such as lodging which must be added to your earnings before your rate of pay is determined. There is also a method of determining your rate of pay if you get paid by commission, piece-rate or on some other basis. This often requires an accountant to establish your actual wages for calculating overtime pay.
Once your number of overtime hours and rate of pay are determined, you generally calculate your rate of pay by multiplying your determined wage time one and a half, or 1.5 times your rate of pay. In most states, you seek this back overtime wages for the two year period before a lawsuit is filed and those continue into the future until your case is resolved. These amounts are often significant and you are entitled to them under federal and state laws.
The Department of Labor FLSA Overtime Calculator Adviser provides a method for figuring out your overtime pay, but this does require legal analysis as well. Call our experience overtime pay attorneys today at (855) 754-2795 and we will determine you are entitled to overtime pay from your past or present employer. We will use our “calculator” to determine the amount of money you are owed from your employer. We will represent you under a no win, no fee basis which means you pay no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement. There are strict time deadlines for filing overtime lawsuits so it is important that you call today.