There is a saying that goes, “never work for free.” It’s an adage you’ll want to remember when your employer asks you to work more than 40 hours a week – in other words, going overtime.
But who exactly is eligible for overtime pay?
Who is eligible?
According to federal law, employees who earn under $455 per week are non-exempt from overtime laws and entitled to overtime pay. As a note, most “blue-collar” workers are eligible.
In addition, all first responders (police, paramedics, and firefighters) can be paid for working beyond their weekly business hours.
Under federal overtime laws, non-exempt employees get one and a half times their regular pay rate for each hour of overtime work they render.
Certain occupations exempt from federal overtime laws may still receive pay under New York labor law.
And who isn’t eligible for overtime pay?
Specific types of employees are exempt from overtime and minimum wage laws. Executives and administrators who earn more than 75 times New York’s minimum wage rate of $14.20 per hour and professionals who earn more than $455 per week fall under this category. External salespeople (those who make sales outside their employer’s business location) are exempt because they can set their work hours.
In addition to the above, volunteers, interns, taxicab drivers, domestic service workers, farmworkers and “informal” employees, such as those casually employed part-time as babysitters or companions for older people, are exempt due to the nature of their jobs.
As important as it is to do your best to impress your employers, you must also remember that there are rules about how overtime works. And always keep in mind that you should never work for free.