Can You Be Exempt from Being Paid Overtime?
April 18, 2016
Under What Conditions Can You Be Exempt from Being Paid Overtime?
One of the common ways that your employer may cheat you out of money is by classifying you as exempt in order to avoid paying you overtime and/or paying you for extra hours worked. They often do this on the basis of your job title or because you receive a salary.
For example, you may be an employee who is a laborer, a factory working, or a low-level supervisor who is being paid a monthly salary, but working 60 hours a week with no overtime pay for the extra 20 hours. Or, you may be classified as a manager, when you only supervise one or two other employees and basically perform the same job that they perform.
The idea that they will sell you is that, rather than paying you $10 per hour, they are paying you a salary of $3,000 per month. Because of this, they don’t have to pay you overtime. However, your job title is irrelevant, and the fact that you receive a salary doesn’t mean that you are necessarily exempt from being paid overtime.
Are You Exempt From Being Paid Overtime?
Florida does not have a specific law governing overtime pay; therefore, federal law must be applied. Under the current provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), you must be paid 1.5 times your regular rate of pay for every hour you work past 40, unless you receive at least $23,600 per year in salary and you are either:
An executive – one who is a high-level manager and supervises employees.
A professional – one with advanced training or knowledge and who is typically licensed, such as CPAs, doctors, lawyers, etc.
An administrator – one who does not perform manual labor, and who is involved in independent decision-making in matters that are significant to the company, such as the hiring and firing of employees, budgeting, or other significant discretionary decisions. This exemption is subject to widespread abuse by employers, but is basically for employees.
This is in contrast to employees who are simply told what to do, or who are given the discretion to make decisions on less significant matters, such as how to organize a filing cabinet, who to call, or when to turn the light off.
Lower-level supervisors rarely fall into this category, since the decisions that they make are most often guided by others and they generally don’t get to use their own discretion. Thus, they are rarely exempt from being paid overtime.
Learn More from Employment Lawyers at Jodat Law Group, P.A.
If you are not being paid overtime and you recognize that you are not a high-level manager or making important decisions for your company, the best thing that you can do is talk to a lawyer who is experienced in employment law matters. An expert lawyer at Jodat Law Group, P.A. can help you figure out if you are owed overtime. Contact us online or by calling 877-912-2671.
