Minimum wage and Extra Time

For the majority of the members of the work force, a check stub is already an important motivation for work. Compensation is a key factor when employees choose between a work and another, make the decision to work or retire, and choose places to live in cost of living. The federal and state governments recognize the importance of wages, and have enacted many laws designed to protect the interest of the employees receive a fair wage for their work.

Requirements for a Minimum Wage

The federal law requires that most employees receive a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Some states have established a higher minimum, and in such states applies the highest minimum. There are some exceptions to the minimum wage, which are mentioned below, but if there is any doubt, typically assume that a worker is covered by the laws on the minimum wage.

“Minimum wage for Young people”

The federal law (and other state laws) allow employers to pay a lower minimum wage to employees under twenty years. This wage rate is the lowest is referred to as a “pay for training” or “minimum wage for young people.” The federal law establishes that this lower minimum should be $4.25 per hour, but this lower wage may be paid for only the first 90 days from hiring, and an employer can do nothing to displace an employee who charges more to pay another employee a lower wage.

Employees who Receive Tips

According to the federal law, an employee who receives tips regularly as part of your salary you also receive a minimum wage of $2.13 per hour. To apply this exemption, the employee must regularly receive more than $30 per month in gratuities, and should be able to keep all tips they earn. The combined amount of tips plus wages must add up to at least the minimum rate of $7.25 per hour. If your tips plus your salary do not equal that minimum, the employer must make up the difference.

Exemptions to the Minimum Wage Requirements

The federal law (and many state laws) require that certain types of employees are exempt from minimum wage requirements, such as administrative employees, professionals, executives and outside sales. In addition, federal and state laws provide for additional exemptions to the minimum wage for employees who are full time college students, workers on some farms, the workers of fishing companies and other types of employees.

Extra Hours

The federal law demands that employees not “exempt” receive a payment for the extra hours worked that exceed forty hours in a work week. The rate of pay of overtime is one hundred and fifty percent of the regular rate of pay of the employee, and must be paid in concept of salary, not in products or in free time. A “workweek” is defined as a period of 168 hours or seven consecutive twenty-four hours. The work week may begin at any time or any day, always and when the day and the hour in which start is applied in a consistent manner. Employees who are eligible to receive a payment for the extra hours may not waive their right to overtime work.

Exemptions to the Requirements of Extra-Hours

Many of the questions on overtime have to do with what employees are exempt from the requirements of overtime. The regulations of the Department of Labor of the united States require that all employees earning less than $455 per week, or $23,660 per year, you automatically have the right to receive a payment for extra hours. Employees who earn more than that amount are exempt from the requirements of overtime, given that they receive a salary and not an hourly wage, and if their posts can be included in one of the following categories:

• Executive: In which the main tasks of the employee are performed in an office or is work non-manual work directly related to the administration of the operations of the employer, and which requires the employee to apply discretion and independent judgment.
• Lawyer: Employee whose main duties involve work that requires advanced knowledge in a field of science or in a discipline. The advanced skills are a type of specialized instruction that is usually acquired after a long course of specialized instruction and not through the job itself.
• Creative professional: an Employee whose primary tasks involve invention, imagination, originality or talent for the creative activities or art in a given field.

In addition to the categories listed above, the employees of outside sales and the employee computer are also exempt from the requirements of overtime. An employee of sales external is the one whose main task is to sell and that usually works away from the employer’s premises. An employee’s computer is the one who for his work receives a salary or charge fees not less than $455 per week, or receives an hourly wage of not less than $27.63 per hour. The main tasks of an employee’s computer involving the application (including the consultancy), the creation, the development or modification of computer systems or programs, or operating systems for computers.

Legal help with laws on wages and labour rights

All employees must know the state and federal laws on wages and overtime, in addition to the rights created in the framework of such laws. If you have questions about the salary that you receive, or to which you are entitled as an employee, or if you believe that your employer may be violating your rights under federal or state laws regarding wages, contact an attorney specializing in the rights of employees to discuss your situation.