QUESTION
Can a salaried employee be denied overtime pay if the job is a labor intensive job?
Asked on Oct 08th, 2014 on Labor and Employment - Virginia
More details to this question:
I drive for a company that collects donated clothes and shoes. I load and unload approximately 2 to 6 thousand pounds of product daily. I have been employed by this company for 1 year and I am now being told that I am expected to work 50-55 hours weekly with the CHANCE to earn a weight bonus but with no flat increase to my salary. Is this legal for a job in which I drive AND perform strenuous manual labor too?
1 ANSWER
It sounds as though your job duties do not qualify for any of the major exemptions to the overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (executive, administrative, or professional). You may qualify for the “federal motor carrier” exemption if the truck you drive weighs more than 10,000 pounds, but that would not necessarily mean you wouldn’t be entitled to overtime.
The default rule is that you are entitled to time and a half for every hour in excess of 40 in a given week. That would mean you are entitled to half time for hours 41 through 50 in your workweek, whether or not you get a weight bonus.
Please call us to schedule a consultation so we can get more detail about your claims.
Answered on Oct 17th, 2014 at 1:38 PM