Federal overtime law (the Fair Labor Standards Act) requires most employers to pay non-exempt employees time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a week. Whether you qualify depends on your job duties — not your title, and not whether you're paid hourly or salary. Here's the practical version.
The federal rule is 1.5x your regular rate for hours over 40 in a single workweek. State law sometimes adds daily overtime (over 8 hrs/day in CA, e.g.); TX, AZ, NV, NM follow federal weekly rules.
Common exemptions: executive, administrative, professional, computer, and outside sales. Each has specific duties tests. Just calling someone a "manager" or paying them salary doesn't make them exempt.
Even if duties qualify, exempt employees must earn above the federal salary threshold (currently $684/week for most exemptions). Anyone below that threshold is non-exempt regardless of duties.
Working through lunch, answering emails after hours, traveling between job sites — many of these can count as compensable time under FLSA. Employers can't avoid overtime by simply not recording hours.
You can typically recover unpaid overtime for the past 2 years (3 years for willful violations) plus liquidated damages equal to the unpaid amount, plus attorney's fees. File with the DOL or in federal court.
Need a employment attorney? Browse partner attorneys for Employment & Workplace
NotALawyer.com provides general legal information, not legal advice.