The Fair Labor Standards Act is the federal law governing minimum wage and overtime, and its central distinction is between exempt and non-exempt employees.
The overtime rule
Covered non-exempt employees must receive overtime pay of at least one and one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Who is exempt
Executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and certain computer employees are not entitled to overtime — but only if they meet specific salary and duties tests.
Both tests must be satisfied. Being paid a salary does not by itself make you exempt, and a job title does not either.
Misclassification is common, and if you are performing non-exempt duties while classified as exempt, you may be owed back overtime.
The FLSA does not cap hours
Worth knowing: the FLSA does not limit the number of hours you can work per day or week. Employers can require overtime.
What they cannot do is refuse to pay it to non-exempt staff.
Daily overtime in some states
Federal law counts by the week. Some states count by the day:
- California: overtime for hours over 8 in a day, or 40 in a week
- Alaska: overtime for hours over 8 in a day, or 40 in a week
- Nevada: overtime for hours over 8 in a day, where paid less than 1.5x minimum wage, or 40 in a week
If you work in one of those, a long day triggers overtime even in a short week.
No federal break requirement
The FLSA does not require meal or rest breaks. Many states do, and those rules vary considerably.
Minimum wage has layers
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since 2009. But more than 30 states and many cities set higher minimums — California, Washington and New York all exceed $16 an hour.
Always check your state and local rate, not just the federal one. The highest applicable rate is the one that applies.
If you are owed wages
The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor investigates FLSA complaints, and state labour departments handle state law claims.