How to Tell If I’m Entitled to Overtime Pay in New York
Labor laws have dramatically changed in recent years, including those that manage overtime pay. You may be unsure if you qualify in your current position or what criteria you must meet to be eligible for overtime pay in New York. Understanding your rights makes you better equipped to advocate for yourself. However, suppose you feel that your employer is unfairly withholding overtime rates for your overtime hours, and they are not responsive to being approached about it. In that case, it may be time to contact an experienced Syracuse employment law attorney to help you.
Overtime Pay
There are two bodies responsible for setting and enforcing labor laws in the state of New York. These are the United States Department of Labor (NYDOL) and the office of the New York State Attorney General. The employer must adhere to the most restrictive guidelines if there are discrepancies between federal and state laws.
For example, the Department of Labor shows that New York requires an hour of minimum wage pay to be added to a worker’s pay if the spread of hours exceeds ten hours, they work a split shift, or both. There are no federal guidelines requiring additional pay for exceeding a set number of hours a day, but because the State Law is more stringent than federal, that must be followed by New York employers.
The general guidelines are that if you work over 40 hours in a given seven-day period, you are entitled to an hourly rate of one and a half times your regular rate for all hours beyond 40. The Department of Labor reports that recent adjustments in hospitality regulations have decreased the residential worker hour requirement from 44 hours weekly to 40.
Criteria for York Overtime Pay
Exempt positions are typically salaried. They are offered under the assumption that you complete your tasks in the designated 40-hour time frame, and, therefore, overtime is not asked for by the employer or required for the employee to complete their job duties. Some of these exempted positions are:
- Managers
- Executives
- Administrative Employees
- Computer Professionals
- Independent Contractors
It may not always be clear whether or not your position meets some of these criteria. The Department of Labor outlines some of these for an administrative position and notes that the criteria focus on how the pay is structured and the job duties. Consideration is given to how much of the job is dedicated to certain tasks and how they support the business, whether it is manual work, office duties, employee support, or other similar tasks.
Similarly, a manager position would need to have direct reports to them to qualify, among other things. If you are unsure, our employment law attorney with Gattuso and Ciotoli PLLC may be able to help you understand what you are entitled to and help you recover some of that back pay. Employers should not get away with shorting dedicated employees.
Do You Qualify for Overtime Pay?
Generally, if you are paid hourly and work more than 40 hours in a designated week, you are likely eligible for overtime pay. If you are receiving pushback from your company about overtime pay you believe you are entitled to, you can file a report with the Department of Labor. You work hard and deserve to be compensated fairly.