How Employers Avoid Paying Overtime

Employers Often Improperly Label Employees as “Managers” to Avoid Paying Overtime

Employers often classify employees as “Managers” or “Supervisors” with the thought that simply by applying these titles to an employee they can wash their hands of any obligation to pay overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a given week and cheat their workers out of wages to which they are entitled. As an employee you should be armed with the facts as to what is required under the existing overtime laws to be considered a “Manager” who is exempt from overtime pay.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) uses several tests to define the “Managerial Exemption” in order to tell if an employee is truly considered a Manager under the law, or are misclassified and is entitled to overtime pay.

To determine if you are truly a Manager who is exempt from receiving overtime pay, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I earn a salary greater than $455 per work week?
2. Is my primary job duty to manage other employees for the entire company, or to manage employees within a department or subdivision of the company?
3. Do I regularly direct the work of 2 or more people?
4. Do I have the authority to hire or fire other employees , or are my recommendations to hire and fire employees taken into consideration by those that make such decisions?

If you have the title of “Manager” and your answer to one or more of the above questions is “no”, there is a strong possibility you may be entitled to overtime pay that you are not currently receiving.

Call attorney Jason Gunter at 239-334-7017 if you think you are improperly classified as a salary employee and should be receiving overtime pay. We can help you get expert answers to these questions.