When is an employee entitled to overtime?
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When is an employee entitled to overtime?
I have a small lawn maintenance business with 2 employees. About 3 months ago, I hired an apprentice who was working with me until 2 days ago. The hourly wage is $10 a hour and he
worked some of overtime which I paid the same amount as hourly wage but he didn’t complete his 3 months of training; he left without telling me for 1 1/2 weeks. After that he came back expecting his job and wanting it back but another employee had already been hired as I didn’t know if he would ever come back. As a result he wants his overtime hours to be paid as regular overtime hours.1.5 times the hourly wage. If I should pay him the overtime hours as normal or leave it as it is as I already paid them with the hourly wage amount?
Asked on July 26, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Nevada
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
If he was an hourly employee, which he evidently was, then he had to be paid overtime for any hours past 40 he worked in a week, wether he had completed his training or not, or whether he left without warning--no exceptions. The law (e.g. the Fair Labor Standards Act) requires overtime *every* time an hourly employee works more than 40 hours in a week. So if he did work some overtime while he was with you, you need to pay him at the overtime rate for those hours.
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