A salaried employee can be exempt from overtime pay requirements if they are paid on a salary basis, which means a predetermined, guaranteed amount, and they are also in one of the exempt job classifications and are paid at least a certain amount. Seems simple enough. But employers are very creative in trying to find ways to skirt overtime pay requirements. A recent case, Pickens v. Hamilton-Ryker, provides a good example.
Lynwood Pickens was a pipe inspector. He was guaranteed each week what the company called a "salary" of at least $800, which was based on an 8 hour workday at his hourly rate of $100. Pickens, however, always worked more than 8 hours a week. For every hour more than 8 in a workweek Pickens was paid at the same $100 hourly rate. The most hours he ever worked in a workweek was 83 (he was paid $8300), the least was 28 (he was paid $2800), and he averaged 52 (and was paid $5200). The employer never paid him time-and-a-half, because it claimed he was "salaried," since he was guaranteed 8 hours pay each week.
Nice try the court ruled: "To be paid on a weekly basis an employee must be paid for a regular week's worth of work." A true, lawful "weekly salary must compensate an employee 'for the general value of services performed' over the week, as opposed to merely serving as a minor auxiliary to an employee's hourly or daily pay."
Some more resources about overtime pay requirements:
Does being paid a salary mean that I don't have to be paid overtime?
Does a job title determine whether an employee is exempt from overtime pay requirements?
Lexington, Kentucky overtime lawyer Robert Abell helps individuals recover the overtime pay they've earned; contact him at 859-254-7076.
