Understanding how much an individual should be paid and the methodology for determining that amount should be straightforward for everyone, but this is unfortunately not always the case. Wage disputes regarding overtime are not uncommon when employers fail to act within the law or purposely withhold relevant information. New York employees can determine whether they might be owed overtime pay according to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s test.
The FLSA is a federal law. The test, which consists of three parts, is used to determine whether an employee is nonexempt, at which point the worker would fall under the protection of the FLSA and be entitled to pay for overtime work. Overtime pay, as most people know, is paid at time and a half for time worked over 40 hours within a week’s period.
The first test applies to salary, and workers making $455 or less per week are nonexempt. The second test involves determining whether a worker is considered to be a salaried or hourly employee. While an employer might classify an employee either way, the test usually looks past the classification to see if a worker has any type of guaranteed minimum wage. If not, the worker is nonexempt. The third and final test involves duties, which examines whether a worker is in a managerial position — which is exempt.
New York workers who make less than $23,600 in a year and are neither a salary employee nor in a managerial position are protected by the federal FLSA and are guaranteed overtime pay. Far too many workers discover that they have a protected guarantee to overtime after they have already been refused this type of pay by their employer. Wage disputes can put an enormous amount of strain on already struggling workers, but this stress can be mitigated when just resolutions are sought under the careful guidance of experienced legal counsel.
Source: FindLaw, “Fair Wages FAQ“, Accessed on Sept. 23, 2017