Am I being cheated out of overtime pay?
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Am I being cheated out of overtime pay?
I’m an on-call, agreement employee. I make a set rate for each shift I work and I work 40 hours for 5/8 hour shifts per week. When an employee with a shift is out (vacation, sick, etc), myself and other on-call employees can work their shifts until they return. This creates a situation in which we work over 40 hours a week on basic pay because once that employee returns, we go back to being on-call with no shifts credited. Should we be paid OT for working over 40 hours in 1 week, even if it’s split between on-call work and work done on a hold-down for a shift employee (we make the same amount)?
Asked on November 19, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you are not exempt from overtime (and if you are paid on an hourly basis, you are not exempt), then you *must* be paid overtime for any hours worked beyond 40 in a single work week. It does not matter if the extra work is for covering another employee or is part of your own shift(s)--if you work more than 40 hours, you get overtime. Note that simply being on-call does not itself count as hours worked or qualify for overtime--but actually working, even if it's covering for another, does.
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