Do the overtime laws affect you?
Not sure if the new overtime law affects you? Confused about your obligations as an employer? If you're an employee, do you qualify for overtime pay? Todd Newman, attorney with Boston-based Hanify & King, P.C., answered your questions.The information provided on Boston.com by attorney Todd Newman of Hanify & King, P.C. does not constitute legal advice from Boston.com, or establish an attorney-client relationship between users of the site and Hanify & King. Boston.com does not endorse the views expressed by viewers or attorney's in this message board.
I am salary, but work for a company that mandates 7am-5pm, with only ½
hour for lunch. Our pay stubs say 40 hours, but we really work close to
50. Is this right? --GG, westford
Assuming your salary is $455 or more per week ($23,660 or more per year) and your employer has accurately classified you as exempt from the overtime laws, this arrangement appears permissible. In Massachusetts, employees working more than 6 hours per day must get a 30 minute lunch break, which you are receiving. Your pay stubs may say 40 hours simply to reflect that you are a full-time salaried employee. Since overtime pay is not required, your employer may have no need to record actual hours worked.
With the new overtime laws taking effect on 8/23/04, I want to know if they affect me. I drive a cement mixer, 60 hrs. a week; of which there is no option to me working that many hrs. And I do receive overtime pay for over 40 hours a week. --Victoria, Phoenix
The new overtime regulations should strengthen your entitlement to overtime pay. The regulations state that "blue collar" workers, including construction workers, cannot be denied overtime pay, no matter how highly paid they may be. Thus, you should be able to continue to receive 20 hours' worth of overtime each week without fear that this additional compensation will somehow restrict or eliminate your overtime rights.
I work for a small non-profit and constantly have to work beyond the 40 hour work week that my very small salary is based on. Comp time does not exist at this organization so any time off has to be taken out of my vacation time. My annual salary is about $35,000 and is an administrative role. Would I quaify for overtime under the new law? -- Kristina, Boston
Your $35,000 salary is not low enough to entitle you to overtime pay based on pay alone. You would need to earn less than $23,660 in order to have such an entitlement. Whether you should receive overtime pay depends on many factors that are not apparent from your question. These factors include the nature of your primary duty; the amount of discretion and independent judgment you exercise on the job; and the extent to which you handle matters of significance.
I am a truck driver for a big toy retailer. on a 40 hr week i gross $520.00 . i get paid o/t after that at time and a half . i rely on at least 5 to 10 hours o/t every week.how do bush's o/t laws effect me and my family? -- Anthony, Virginia Beach
The new overtime regulations would not appear to affect you. You were earning more than enough to be treated as exempt from overtime pay under the old regulations if your duties satisifed any of the white-collar exemptions, but your employer treated you as a wage earner entitled to overtime pay. The new regulations do not appear to require a change in your status. (Please note, however, that certain provisions of the law that are unchanged by the new regulations permit employers to deny overtime pay to drivers where specified conditions are met.)
I am a salaried production manager in the Printing Industry. Last week I worked 76 hours. Under the new laws, would any of this be considered overtime? -- Robert, Essex
The new regulations do not entitle properly salaried employees to overtime pay just because they may have to put in long hours from time to time. Thus, assuming that your employer is properly paying you on a salary basis, last week's long hours do not convert you into a wage earner entitled to overtime pay. If your employer has been treating you as a salaried "executive" employee, then, under the new law, you must have the authority to hire or fire other employees (or particular weight must be given to your suggestions and recommendations respecting the hiring, firing, advancement, and promotion of other employees) in order for your employer to continue to pay you on salary.
Assuming your salary is $455 or more per week ($23,660 or more per year) and your employer has accurately classified you as exempt from the overtime laws, this arrangement appears permissible. In Massachusetts, employees working more than 6 hours per day must get a 30 minute lunch break, which you are receiving. Your pay stubs may say 40 hours simply to reflect that you are a full-time salaried employee. Since overtime pay is not required, your employer may have no need to record actual hours worked.
With the new overtime laws taking effect on 8/23/04, I want to know if they affect me. I drive a cement mixer, 60 hrs. a week; of which there is no option to me working that many hrs. And I do receive overtime pay for over 40 hours a week. --Victoria, Phoenix
The new overtime regulations should strengthen your entitlement to overtime pay. The regulations state that "blue collar" workers, including construction workers, cannot be denied overtime pay, no matter how highly paid they may be. Thus, you should be able to continue to receive 20 hours' worth of overtime each week without fear that this additional compensation will somehow restrict or eliminate your overtime rights.
I work for a small non-profit and constantly have to work beyond the 40 hour work week that my very small salary is based on. Comp time does not exist at this organization so any time off has to be taken out of my vacation time. My annual salary is about $35,000 and is an administrative role. Would I quaify for overtime under the new law? -- Kristina, Boston
Your $35,000 salary is not low enough to entitle you to overtime pay based on pay alone. You would need to earn less than $23,660 in order to have such an entitlement. Whether you should receive overtime pay depends on many factors that are not apparent from your question. These factors include the nature of your primary duty; the amount of discretion and independent judgment you exercise on the job; and the extent to which you handle matters of significance.
I am a truck driver for a big toy retailer. on a 40 hr week i gross $520.00 . i get paid o/t after that at time and a half . i rely on at least 5 to 10 hours o/t every week.how do bush's o/t laws effect me and my family? -- Anthony, Virginia Beach
The new overtime regulations would not appear to affect you. You were earning more than enough to be treated as exempt from overtime pay under the old regulations if your duties satisifed any of the white-collar exemptions, but your employer treated you as a wage earner entitled to overtime pay. The new regulations do not appear to require a change in your status. (Please note, however, that certain provisions of the law that are unchanged by the new regulations permit employers to deny overtime pay to drivers where specified conditions are met.)
I am a salaried production manager in the Printing Industry. Last week I worked 76 hours. Under the new laws, would any of this be considered overtime? -- Robert, Essex
The new regulations do not entitle properly salaried employees to overtime pay just because they may have to put in long hours from time to time. Thus, assuming that your employer is properly paying you on a salary basis, last week's long hours do not convert you into a wage earner entitled to overtime pay. If your employer has been treating you as a salaried "executive" employee, then, under the new law, you must have the authority to hire or fire other employees (or particular weight must be given to your suggestions and recommendations respecting the hiring, firing, advancement, and promotion of other employees) in order for your employer to continue to pay you on salary.
