If you work more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, your employer must pay you at the “time-and-a-half” overtime rate. However, employers often attempt to avoid paying overtime by wrongly labeling employees as “managers.” However, even if you are designated as a “manager” or are paid a salary, you are entitled to overtime pay if:
- You spend more than half your time doing the same work as those you supervise;
- Your employer gives you paid time off instead of overtime pay;
- You are wrongfully labeled a manager or supervisor;
- You work in your company’s IT department and you spend most of your time troubleshooting fellow employees’ computer problems – as opposed to running and managing the whole IT department as your title indicates; or,
- You write computer code based on models or specifications provided to you and that you must follow – as opposed to using your own independent judgment to write code.
Good workers often do whatever is necessary, for however long it takes, to get the job done. But even if you make a salary or are a manager or supervisor, that doesn’t mean you aren’t entitled to overtime pay when you make those extra efforts