Can Salaried Employees Still Receive Overtime?
Many workers assume that being paid a salary automatically means they are not entitled to overtime. That is not always true.
Under federal wage law, the question is not just whether an employee is paid a salary. The more important question is whether the employee is properly classified as exempt from overtime.
Some salaried employees are exempt. But many salaried employees may still be entitled to overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek.
Salary Does Not Automatically Eliminate Overtime Rights
Employers sometimes tell workers that they are not eligible for overtime because they are paid a salary instead of an hourly wage.
That can be misleading.
Being paid a salary is only one part of the overtime analysis. In many situations, the employee’s actual job duties matter more than the job title or pay structure.
For example, a worker may be called a “manager,” “supervisor,” “coordinator,” “specialist,” or “administrator,” but still be entitled to overtime if their actual duties do not qualify for an exemption.
What Does “Exempt” Mean?
An exempt employee is not entitled to overtime pay under certain wage laws. A non-exempt employee generally must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
To treat an employee as exempt, an employer usually must show that the employee meets specific legal requirements.
Those requirements often involve:
how the employee is paid,
how much the employee is paid, and
what the employee actually does at work.
A salary alone usually is not enough.
Job Titles Are Not Controlling
Job titles can be misleading.
A company may give an employee a title that sounds managerial or professional, but the actual work may be mostly routine, production-based, customer-service oriented, or closely supervised.
Potential warning signs include:
limited authority to make meaningful decisions,
little or no power to hire, fire, or discipline employees,
routine work controlled by scripts, policies, or metrics,
most time spent doing the same work as hourly employees,
little independent judgment,
strict production goals or call quotas,
no real management authority, or
close supervision by managers.
If the title does not match the reality of the job, the employee may have been misclassified.
Common Salaried Jobs That May Raise Overtime Questions
Overtime issues can arise in many salaried positions, including:
assistant managers,
retail managers,
restaurant managers,
customer service supervisors,
call center supervisors,
office administrators,
coordinators,
dispatchers,
recruiters,
staffing employees,
sales support employees,
loan processors,
claims employees,
healthcare administrative staff, and
other salaried support roles.
The issue is not whether the employee has an important job. The issue is whether the employee’s actual duties satisfy an overtime exemption.
Assistant Managers and “Working Managers”
One common problem involves assistant managers or working supervisors.
An employee may be paid a salary and given a management title, but spend most of the day performing non-management work such as:
serving customers,
stocking shelves,
running registers,
preparing food,
answering phones,
handling routine paperwork,
completing production tasks, or
covering shifts.
If the employee has little real management authority, the salary and title may not be enough to avoid overtime obligations.
Administrative Employees Are Often Misclassified
Another common issue involves employees classified under the “administrative” exemption.
Not every office worker or salaried administrative employee is exempt from overtime.
Workers who follow established procedures, process paperwork, enter data, handle routine customer issues, or apply company policies in a limited way may still be non-exempt, depending on the facts.
The administrative exemption can be complicated, and misclassification is common.
Discuss Your Situation
Being paid a salary does not automatically mean you are exempt from overtime.
If you were paid a salary, regularly worked more than 40 hours per week, and did not receive overtime, you may request a confidential review of your situation.
