Most people have a basic understanding of who qualifies for overtime wages. The average individual would tell you that someone who is a salaried worker does not get overtime pay, while someone who is an hourly employee should receive overtime when they work more than 40 hours in one workweek.
While many salaried employees are in fact exempt from regulations ensuring overtime pay, not all of them are. Some companies offer overtime to incentivize workers to put in extra effort. Other companies pay their salaried workers so little that those employees still have the right to claim overtime wages because they do not meet the standard salary level for exemption.
How much must a salaried worker make to qualify to receive overtime pay?
The last adjustment to the standard salary level was in 2019
Every decade or so, federal lawmakers have to revisit the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to determine whether the amounts set for standard salary level and highly compensated employees are still appropriate given the current cost of living and inflation rate. An employee who makes less than $684 a week may qualify for overtime wages even if they technically receive a salary rather than hourly wages. A worker whose annual salary is under $35,568 deserves overtime compensation for extra hours worked just like an hourly employee would receive for those same hours.
Asking your employer to pay you those overtime wages may not get the result you were hoping for. When your employer violates your rights under the FSLA, you may have no choice but to bring a claim against them to get the money you deserve.
