OVERVIEW
An employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee overtime premium pay for such work. Employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek of at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay. The FLSA contains some exceptions (or exemptions) from the overtime pay requirement. Some exemptions apply to specific types of businesses and others apply to specific types of work.
The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest unless those hours exceed 40 for the workweek. Extra pay for working weekends or nights is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee (or the employee’s representative). The FLSA does not require extra pay for weekend or night work or double time pay.
The FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees. It also exempts certain computer employees. To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $455 per week. Job titles do not determine exempt status. In order for an exemption to apply, an employee’s specific job duties and salary must meet all the requirements of the Department’s regulations. The FLSA contains other exemptions which are applicable to specific types of work or to specific types of businesses.
COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE MATERIALS
BASIC INFORMATION
- Employment Law Guide – Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay – Describes overtime pay requirements as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
- DOL’s FairPay Overtime Initiative – Designed to help employers and employees understand the Department’s overtime rules which were revised in August 2004.
- Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act – Answers many questions about the FLSA and gives information about certain occupations that are exempt from the Act.
- Chapter 32 – Wage and Hour Division’s Field Operations Handbook (PDF) – Describes overtime rules.
- Filing a complaint – DOL’s Wage and Hour Division manages complaints regarding violations of the various laws and regulations it administers. To file a complaint concerning one of these laws, contact your nearest Wage and Hour Division office or call the Department’s Toll-Free Wage and Hour HelpLine at 1-866-4-US-WAGE.
FACT SHEETS
- Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA
- FairPay Fact Sheets by Occupation
- FairPay Fact Sheets by Exemption
- Coverage Under the FLSA
E-TOOLS
- Comprehensive FLSA Presentation (Microsoft® PowerPoint®)
- The FLSA: Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemption Presentation (Microsoft® PowerPoint®)
- elaws Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Overtime Security Advisor – Helps employers and employees understand the recently revised overtime exemption regulations.
- elaws FLSA Advisor – Addresses key wage and hour topics, including when overtime or double time pay is due to an employee.
- Overtime Video Training Seminars – Help employers and employees understand the recently revised overtime exemption regulations.
POSTERS
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Minimum Wage Poster – Describes the requirement that every employer of employees subject to the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime provisions must post a notice explaining the Act. (Español) (Chinese)
RECORDKEEPING
Every covered employer must keep certain records for each non-exempt worker. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires no particular form for the records, but does require that the records include certain identifying information about the employee and data about the hours worked and the wages earned. For a listing of the basic records that an employer must maintain, see the FLSA recordkeeping fact sheet.
APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS
- The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – Establishes minimum wages, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor standards for private sector and government workers.
- 29 CFR Part 541 – Regulation governing exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for certain employees in executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer-related occupations.
- 29 CFR Part 778 – Regulation on overtime compensation.