Learn when overtime pay must be provided to nonexempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Prepare for the SHRM-SCP certification exam with this expert overview of FLSA overtime rules.
Table of Contents
Question
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, when must overtime be paid to a nonexempt employee?
Answer
When the employee works 43 hours in a week even though the individual is salaried. All nonexempt workers must be paid overtime pay: 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any workweek.
Explanation
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), overtime pay must be provided to nonexempt employees whenever they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. The FLSA requires that nonexempt workers be paid overtime at a rate of no less than 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for each hour worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek.
This overtime requirement applies to all nonexempt employees, regardless of whether they are paid hourly or receive a salary. Even if a nonexempt employee normally works less than 40 hours per week, any time they exceed 40 hours in a single workweek, overtime pay must be provided for those excess hours.
Therefore, a nonexempt employee who works 43 hours in a workweek must be paid overtime for the 3 hours worked beyond the 40 hour threshold, even if they are salaried. The employee’s regular rate of pay would be calculated based on their salary, and they would then receive 1.5 times this regular rate for each of the 3 overtime hours worked.
It’s important to note that each workweek stands alone in determining overtime pay under the FLSA. Overtime is calculated solely based on hours worked in each discrete workweek, not by averaging hours over multiple weeks. Employers cannot avoid overtime pay by averaging an employee’s hours over a longer period.
In summary, the FLSA mandates that all nonexempt employees must receive overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times their regular rate for any hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek, regardless of their normal schedule or method of payment. Calculating and providing this overtime pay is a key requirement for employers to ensure compliance with the FLSA.
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