Employers who pay their workers on an hourly basis or provide them with non-exempt salaries are responsible for overtime pay under certain circumstances. If an employee puts in more than 40 hours of work in one workweek, they should receive 150% of their usual hourly wage for the time past their 40th hour on the clock.
Employers sometimes use tricks and manipulative tactics to avoid overtime responsibility. Demanding a worker’s presence at an all-day weekend training session or a staff party where deep cleaning takes place could seem like a workaround to overtime rules, but the employees who attend may have a right to overtime pay.
Training and meetings are work too
An employee is at work and on the clock when they must be physically present in a specific location, must perform standard or one-off job responsibilities and cannot freely leave without risking their employment status. When a company makes again training or lengthy meeting mandatory, the time spent at training or meetings must be part of the week’s total hours worked.
Even if employees do not perform their usual job functions or must be present at a location other than their usual job site, the company has exerted control over their time and imposed job-related responsibilities on them. Employees may have the right to overtime pay in scenarios where they already worked 40 hours before a mandatory meeting or training session.
If a company refuses to pay for the time that they require a worker’s physical presence and restrict their freedom to engage in other activities, those workers may need help pursuing a wage and hour claim. Partnering with an employment law attorney can help frustrated professionals pursue the overtime wages they deserve for time already committed to work-related activities.