The FLSA states that any work over 40 hours in a 168-hour period is counted as overtime. Since there are no regulations in place for the maximum number of hours that can be worked, as is the case in many other countries, the 40-hour week often gets exceeded as employees strive to do their best, often staying hours after their usual “clocking off” time. Although there are no standards to regulate these extra hours, they can take their toll on the health, safety, and productivity of an employee, especially over a prolonged period of time.
According to the FLSA, overtime must be paid in both the private and the public sector. The employer should pay time and a half for any hours worked after the usual forty. The FLSA doesn’t cover double time; the employer and employee should sort that out between themselves.
In addition to what the Fair Labor Standards Act has laid out, certain states have come up with their own regulations and laws. The states that require employees to be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours a week or 8 hours a day are: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The exceptions include:
- California: complies with federal law, but also requires employees to receive time and a half for the first eight hours in the seventh day of a work week.
- Colorado: overtime to be paid if an employee works more than 12 hours in a day.
- Kentucky: complies with federal law but requires an employee to receive overtime pay if they have worked seven days in one week (with the overtime pay being received on the seventh day).
- Minnesota: requires overtime pay for over 48 hours worked per week
- Rhode Island: requires retail employees to be paid overtime for working Sundays and holidays.