What Are Overtime Laws?

Overtime laws govern overtime hours in workplaces, or hours worked more than 40 in one workweek. Overtime laws stipulate that a workweek is defined as 168 hours, consisting of seven, consecutive, 24_hour periods. Overtime laws allow employers to start a workweek on any hour of any day, and even to establish different workweeks for different employees. However, overtime laws exist mainly to protect workers from exploitation and they therefore stipulate that any workers working overtime must receive overtime pay. Overtime pay, according to overtime laws, must be at minimum one and one_half times the regular salary rate of pay. Some unions have been able to negotiate even better terms of overtime pay for workers. Overtime laws also state that even those workers who do not get paid hourly must still be given overtime based on the 40-hour week and the average hourly salary. According to overtime laws, overtime pay must be paid on the regular payday period in which the overtime was worked. That means that overtime pay is added to the regular paycheck and cannot be withheld until later. Overtime laws also outline who is eligible for overtime pay. According to these laws, non-management workers who perform manual labor and white-collar workers earning less than $455 in wages weekly can get overtime pay. Educational institutions, large institutions earning more than $500,000 annually, businesses, engaged in interstate commerce, government agencies, and health care centers or institutions are all obligated by overtime laws to pay their employees overtime pay. As is likely evident from this description, there are a number of workers who are not covered by overtime laws, and this has caused worry for a number of groups interested in worker rights. Telecommuters,

non-traditional workers, part-time workers with more than one job, and temporary workers are not always fully protected by overtime laws. As more and more workers each year are non-traditional workers, there is increasing worry that overtime laws need to be changed to protect everyone - not just certain groups of people. Some employers and employees also think that overtime laws need to be changed because under current legislation, employers who resent having to pay overtime simply find ways to handle overflow in ways that does not necessitate overtime pay - by hiring temporary workers, for example. This way, employees who qualify for and want overtime pay do not always get it.