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Pursuing a Texas overtime wage claim

Making an overtime compensation claim in Texas necessitates a number of preliminary considerations. Chief among these factors is whether an individual qualifies for overtime pay in the first instance.

Defining overtime and calculating the workweek

According to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Texas Payday Law, a standard workweek is 40 hours in duration. Any amount of time worked over 40 hours is deemed overtime according to these two statutes. They come into play when a determination is made regarding an overtime compensation claim.

A workweek is defined as a continuous, seven-day time period. A day is calculated using a 24-hour timeframe. A continuous seven-day workweek does not have to run from Sunday to Saturday. A workweek can start on any day of a week and end seven consecutive days later. With that said, an employer must adopt a set definition of what constitutes a workweek for the purposes of standard and overtime compensation.

Lawful methods to provide employee overtime compensation

Texas law sets forth two ways in which an employer can compensate a worker for overtime. First, an employer can pay a worker 1.5 times the worker’s regular rate of pay for overtime compensation. Second, a governmental employer can permit or even require an employee to take compensatory time-off at the rate of 1.5 hours for every hour worked by a government employee.

Texas employees who are exempt from overtime laws

Certain employees are exempt from federal and Texas overtime laws. These include salaried workers and seasonal workers. In addition, entire job classifications are exempt from federal and Texas overtime laws, including:

  • Taxi drivers
  • Railroad employees
  • Certain airline employees
  • Delivery drivers paid on a per-trip rate
  • Farmworkers

Specific time frames and protocols are in place when it comes to making an overtime compensation claim. An experienced lawyer can provide advice about the process.