Unpaid Overtime

What You Need to Know

Under the New York Labor law and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), all "non-exempt" employees are entitled to overtime pay. However, it's common practice for many employers to evade overtime requirements by misclassifying employees as exempt "executives" or "professionals," even though the employees' responsibilities wouldn't entitle them to such a classification. If you work over forty (40) hours per week, even if you're paid a salary, there's a good chance you're entitled to time-and-one-half overtime for every hour worked over the forty (40) hour threshold. You may also be entitled to liquidated or double damages for overtime violations.

Overtime rules are part of a broader set of protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act. (See our page on FLSA Violations for more on minimum wage, tip credits, and other related violations.)

Hourly Employees

If you're paid by the hour, you must be paid time-and-one-half for all hours worked over forty (40) hours per week. For example, if your hourly rate is $20 per hour, you should be paid $30 per hour for each hour worked over 40 hours that week. If you're paid only your regular hourly rate, rather than time-and-one-half, you're entitled to the difference between what you were paid for overtime hours worked and what you should have been paid. Also, please note that it's illegal for your company to offer you "comp time" or time off instead of paying your proper overtime rate.

Salaried Employees

Many salaried employees earning less than $100,000 per year are entitled to overtime pay. Unfortunately, salaried employees are often taken advantage of and led to believe that they can be made to work overtime for no extra pay. In such a situation, your employer is either misinterpreting the law or deliberately attempting to underpay you. If you're a salaried employee working overtime hours, we advise you to keep track of the hours you work in a journal or calendar. This information may help you demonstrate your hours of employment if a lawsuit is filed. While your company may give you a title such as "vice president" or "assistant manager" to avoid paying overtime, keep in mind that your title doesn't dictate whether or not you're eligible to receive overtime pay.

Salaried employees typically entitled to overtime pay include, but aren't limited to: back office financial employees, account executives, analysts, researchers, customer service representatives, computer help desk, and trade support employees.

If you believe that your employer has misclassified you to avoid overtime requirements or has failed to pay you your rightful overtime under the law, we advise you to contact the New York overtime lawyers of Fitapelli & Schaffer for a free consultation. The overtime attorneys of Fitapelli & Schaffer have been instrumental in both recovering significant overtime compensation for their clients and compelling employers to change illegal pay practices.