Overtime Pay for Factory Production Workers: Who is supposed to Get It?

The U.S Department of Labor has described the provisions for overtime pay in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act is one sentence, “An employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such work.” After reading this, you may come to the conclusion that the idea is simple, but there are many layers to the Fair Labor Standards Act and in those layers, our expert legal team has discovered many ways in which employers violate overtime rules. It is also important to note that a violation in one state may be completely legal in another.

  • Employees that are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act are required to receive a minimum of time and one half their regular rate of pay for every hour they work beyond 40 in a standard workweek.
  • Averaging of hours over two or more weeks in order to avoid overtime payment is not allowed.
  • When it comes to employees above the age of 16, there is no limit in the FLSA to the number of hours of mandatory overtime they can be required to work.
  • Employees should receive payment for their overtime pay along with their regularly scheduled paychecks in the payment period in which the wages were earned.
  • The absolute minimum for the regular pay rate of non-exempt employees is minimum wage.
  • Earnings may be based on salary, commission, or piece-rate.
  • If an agreement between an employer and an employee has been made, it does not change the fact that overtime wages must be paid. The only way an employer is within their legal rights to deny overtime pay – according to wage laws – is to announce in advance that no overtime work will be permitted – and actually enforce the policy.
  • Private sector employees may only grant comp time as a reward; it may not replace overtime pay or the minimum wage.
  • Employers are NOT required to pay overtime, under federal law:
    • For work on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays.
    • Unless employees are not permitted to use standby time for personal use, federal law does not require employees on standby to be paid overtime.
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FLSA Classification is defined under the FairPay Overtime Rules.

Non-exempt Employees: Employees protected under the FLSA include both non-management employees who would be classified as “blue collar” and “white collar” employees who are salaried or hourly but do not receive more than $455* ($684 as of 1/1/20) per each work week. These employees must also work for :

  1. Companies engaged in interstate commerce
  2. Organizations which gross $500,000 or more each year
  3. Federal, state, or local government agencies
  4. Hospitals and other medical institutions which care for the sick, aged, or mentally-ill
  5. Educational institutions

Exempt Employees: In almost all instances, the employees listed below are not eligible for overtime pay:

  1. Any white collar executive, administrative and professional employee who has a salary that is guaranteed to pay more than $455* ($684 as of 1/1/20) each and every week who will often exercise independent judgment and must exercise discretion in matters of particular significance to a company.
  2. Employees who earn more than $100,000 ($107,432 as of 1/1/20) per year who also regularly perform the one or more of the exempt duties of executive, administrative, or professional employees.
  3. Professionals who work in the computer industry that receive in excess of $455* ($684 as of 1/1/20) in their weekly salaries or more than $27.53 per every hour they work depending on their particular job duties.

There is no significance to job titles when it comes to determining an employee’s classification under the FLSA. With few exceptions, eligibility is based off of wages or salaries, job duties and specific occupation.

* The Department of Labor under the Obama Administration increased this salary amount to $913 per week effective 12/1/2016; however, this increase was blocked by a court ruling. Instead, the Trump Administration only increased the salary amount to $684 per week effective 1/1/2020. Please see this page for the latest updates.

Because there are so many complex variations, that you should take advantage of the particular knowledge of a specialized lawyer like Michael Lore. It’s the best way to discover if you have a valid overtime case against your employer. We will gladly help decide if you have a viable case if you fill out our Case Evaluation Form as completely as you possibly can.