Overtime

The FLSA sets forth specific provisions and standards concerning the payment of overtime. The Act generally requires covered employers to pay their non-exempt employees overtime pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. With some notable exceptions and clarifications, the Act requires employers to pay these "covered non-exempt employees" one and one-half times their "regular rate of pay" for all overtime hours worked in any given "work week."

The Act does not place any limitation on the number of hours employees may work in any given work week. Employees may work as many hours as they and their employer determine appropriate, as long as they are paid in accordance with the Act's requirements. Further, the Act does not require overtime pay for hours in excess of 8 per day (with one exception) or for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest, although many companies do pay overtime for such hours. (The Act does provide that state laws requiring overtime for work in excess of 8 hours a day are enforceable.)

The principal goal of the FLSA is to require overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 by non-exempt employees during a work week.

To comply with the FLSA requirements, an employer must know the answers to the following questions:

Who is a "covered employee?"
What is a "work week?"
What is the covered employee's "regular rate of pay" and how is it calculated?
How is overtime calculated?
Are there special cases where one and one half times the regular rate of pay is not required?

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