Are You Subject to Overtime Pay?
The overtime rules apply to all nonexempt employees. A common mistake employers make is to presume that the overtime rules don't apply to salaried employees. The rules apply to all salaried employees, unless they fall into one of the exempt categories.
There are some other occupations that don't have to receive overtime pay under the FLSA (but may be covered by other provisions such as minimum wage, child labor or equal pay). They include:
- employees of motor carriers subject to regulation by the Secretary of Transportation
- employees of railroads, express companies, and water carriers subject to part I of the Interstate Commerce Act
- employees of air carriers subject to Title II of the Railway Labor Act
- outside buyers of poultry and dairy products
- seamen
- announcers, news editors, and chief engineers of radio or television stations in small communities
- salesmen, partsmen, or mechanics employed by automobile, truck, or farm implement dealers, and salesmen employed by trailer, boat, or aircraft dealers
- drivers and drivers' helpers who make local deliveries and are paid on a trip-rate or similar basis pursuant to a plan which was approved by the government
- agricultural employees
- agricultural employees who incidentally do livestock auction work, if they receive the statutory minimum wage for time spent in the auction work
- employees of nonprofit agricultural irrigation systems
- workers employed by country elevators which are located within the area of production and have no more than five employees
- employees who process maple sap into syrup or sugar, other than refined sugar
- employees engaged in the local transportation of fruits or vegetables or of workers employed or to be employed in the harvesting of fruits or vegetables
- taxicab drivers
- law enforcement and fire fighting personnel working for agencies employing fewer than five such persons
- household domestic service employees who reside in the household
- employees of nonprofit educational institutions who, with their spouse, serve as resident houseparents to children who are orphans or one of whose natural parents are deceased, if the houseparents together earn at least $10,000 annually
- employees of motion picture theaters
- workers employed in forestry or logging operations by an employer who has no more than eight employees doing such work
There are also partial exemptions for certain types of employees if certain criteria are met:
- commission employees of retail or service establishments: commissions qualify as overtime pay if the employee's regular rate exceeds one and one-half times his statutory minimum rate and if more than one-half of the employee's compensation represents commissions
- nursing home or hospital employees: the employees may be paid overtime at one and one-half times their regular rates on the basis of a 14-day period, rather than the usual seven-day workweek, if they agreed to the arrangement prior to performance of the work and if they receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of eight daily and in excess of 80 during the period
- employees of wholesale petroleum distributors
- employees working under a union contract with certain provisions
- fire fighters and law enforcement personnel including prison security personnel
- employees processing and handling leaf tobacco
- employees who gin cotton for market in counties where cotton is grown in commercial quantities
- employees who process sugar beets, sugar beet molasses, or sugar cane into sugar (other than refined sugar) or syrup
- cotton and sugar service employees
- private entities that operate concessions in national parks, in national forests, or on land in the National Wildlife Refuge System
- employees receiving remedial education
If your nonexempt employees do not meet any of these exemptions, then you must pay them overtime pay for any hours in excess of 40 hours that they work in a workweek.
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