Is an employer exempt from paying overtime for any hours over 40 per week?

Question

An employer, employing 7 or more, paying by the hour wages, in Tennessee, construction company where there has been no special training for the employees, and NOT paying time-and-a-half for hours over 40 hours. Is this legal?

Answer 1

Unless the employer is too small, employers are never exempt from paying overtime.  The question usually is, is the worker an exempt or non-exempt employee.  Those who are non-exempt must be paid time & a half.



Whether an employee is exempt or non-exempt depends on his duties.  You should contact your state wage and hour bureau to get an opinion as to whether or not you are exempt.

Answer 2

Inmost cases, this is illegal.  There are some exemptions in the law, though usually these exemptions do not cover hourly employees.  Check with the U.S. Dept. of Labor - Division of Wage and Hour at the Employment Standards Administration:

Here's the quick answer from their web site:

Question: When is overtime due?

Answer: For covered, nonexempt employees, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times an employee's regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek. Some exceptions to the 40 hours per week standard apply under special circumstances to police officers and firefighters employed by public agencies and to employees of hospitals and nursing homes.

Some states also have enacted overtime laws. Where an employee is subject to both the state and federal overtime laws, the employee is entitled to overtime according to the higher standard (i.e., the standard that will provide the higher rate of pay).

Here is the Help Line:

Call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free help line:

1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243)