According to the National Employment Law Project, employees lose between $40 and $60 billion every year from unpaid overtime. This can take several forms, like working "off the clock", misclassification of employees, and incorrect tabulation of hours worked.
Here are a few red flags that might indicate your rights as a worker are being infringed upon through unpaid overtime.
Working Off the Clock
Do any of these sound familiar to you?
- You're asked to show up 30 minutes early for "prep", but can't clock in during that time
- Your boss calls a mandatory meeting outside of your working hours, but you aren't allowed to clock in
- You're required to take phone calls or answer emails on your lunch break
- Your boss frequently stops you after you've clocked out and asks you for "one more thing"
These are just a few examples of working off the clock that might seem harmless on the surface but are actually forms of wage theft. If you work, you deserve to be paid for it, no matter how "fast" the interaction is.
Miscalculating Time
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), passed by Congress in 1938, employers are required to pay time-and-a-half for every minute over 40 hours in a workweek. If your hourly wage is $10, for example, and you work a 10-hour shift, your last two hours should be paid at $15 per hour.
Some states have stricter laws, too. In California, for example, anything over 8 hours in a day is considered overtime, too. Additionally, any shift over 12 hours must be paid as double-time.
However, some employers will try to avoid paying overtime by shifting hours onto different days. For example, if you worked 10 hours on Tuesday and 6 hours on Wednesday, an unscrupulous employer might claim you worked 8 hours on both days, which would result in no overtime. If you aren't paying attention, you might not notice.
This is why it's important that you know the overtime laws in your state and can make sure you're getting paid the correct amount. You should write down your hours or take a picture of the time clock every time you clock in or out and compare it to your pay stub to check for discrepancies.
Misclassification
Finally, the other major way employers might try to cheat workers out of overtime is by misclassification. Some workers are legally not entitled to overtime, usually salaried professionals, management, sales representatives who work on commission, and others.
Your boss might try to tell you that your job is "overtime-exempt" because of your job title. Legally, a position can only be exempt from overtime based on your actual job duties, not your title. If you're a janitor and they try to tell you that you can't get overtime because you're the "Custodial Department Manager", it's time to file a report.
How to Report Unpaid Overtime
If you aren't receiving the full overtime pay you deserve, you should file a report with the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division by calling 1-866-487-9243. Your report will be confidential, and your name will only be revealed if requested by a court of law or with your permission.
You may also wish to contact an employment lawyer in your area who can file a civil lawsuit against the company on your behalf. This is a great way to get back the lost wages you were denied by your employer through their unpaid overtime wage theft.
