Many of our clients want to cut costs by paying nonexempt contract employees on a salary basis instead of overtime. While this is a valid concern, it is not a good reason to implement mandatory overtime for these workers.

It is not legal to require that an employee work hours sup interim if the employer does not pay for those extra hours. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that an employee be paid time and one-half of their regular hourly rate for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek, plus payment for the number of additional hours actually worked. A worker who works overtime without being paid is entitled to back pay, plus interest, equal to the amount of overtime wages that should have been paid.

Interim Box EU: Exploring Solutions for EU Businesses

Overtime is calculated on a weekly basis and does not have to coincide with the calendar week. An employee’s workweek is defined as a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours — seven consecutive 24-hour periods. Different workweeks may be used for different groups of employees or employees, and averaging of hours across two or more weeks is not permitted.

Salary minimums and the duties test for exemption from overtime have not kept pace with rising productivity, and proposals to allow some salaried workers to earn overtime pay are timely. In addition, research shows that work flexibility, such as the ability to vary starting and ending times, and take leave for personal or family concerns, is more important to job satisfaction than a particular pay status.