When you get a job, you expect to be paid regularly. This means either every two weeks or once a month. Depending on your status of employment, you may be eligible for overtime work.
There are many different misconceptions about overtime work. Here are some examples that will help you understand the basics. If the information provided is not enough, feel free to contact our Los Angeles Employment Law Attorneys and schedule a free consultation to receive more information first-handed.
Entitled to Overtime Work
Most people believe that if they are paid a weekly or a monthly salary, they are not entitled to overtime work and pay. This is probably the biggest misconception related to overtime work.
Getting paid weekly or monthly has nothing to do with overtime work. In fact, you could be getting a weekly or monthly salary and still be eligible to work overtime. Your eligibility depends entirely on your type of employment. To be more precise, it is determined by whether or not you are an “exempt” employee.
If you are an exempt employee, you are not entitled to overtime work and pay. Examples of exempt employees are:
- Attorneys
- Physicians
- Engineers
- Scientists
- Managerial personnel
- Administrative personnel
However, if you are not an exempt employee, you are most likely entitled to overtime work. In that case, you may be offered to work more than 40 hours in a workweek, depending on the needs of your employer.
Overtime Work is Not Guaranteed
Non-exempt employees believe that getting overtime work is mandatory. However, it is entirely based on the employer’s needs for overtime work. If there is additional work that has to be done, your employer may ask you to stay longer and finish the job.
Keep in mind the following: non-exempt employees should always be paid one and a half times their regular rate of pay for every hour worked over 40 hours (within a single workweek). That means that if you are being paid $20 an hour, every hour that you worked for over the regular 40 hours should be paid $30 per hour.
Employer Cannot Average Your Work Hours
If you work an average of 80 hours in a two week period, where you worked 30 hours in one week and 50 in the other, your employer cannot average that to 40 hours a week in order to avoid paying you for the overtime. This is against the law, and if your employer does that to avoid paying you for the extra 10 hours of overtime, consult with our Employment Law Attorneys in Los Angeles right away.
It is essential that you know your rights, and how overtime is defined. Even if you use your lunch breaks to work instead of getting out for work, as long as you did not clock out, you could still be eligible to be paid for overwork, should you go over 40 hours in one week. Our attorneys will provide you with all the information that you need. Be sure to give them a call as soon as you can.
