How Employers Cheat Employees From Receiving Overtime Pay

Just as employees go the extra mile to help companies succeed, some employers go to equal lengths to keep from paying workers their wages. Ohio employees may feel cheated from not earning overtime pay, leaving them feeling unappreciated and swindled.

AOL has a rundown of ways in which companies commonly keep fairly earned overtime pay from employees. Learning the tricks could lead to viable solutions.

“Salaried employees cannot earn overtime”

Even salaried employees are not automatically exempt from earning overtime. There are exceptions in the Fair Labor Standards Act to this line of thinking. Salaried employees should do some digging to determine whether they qualify for overtime pay.

“Clock out, but keep working”

Sometimes, employers have employees clock out for a break or shift but have that person continue working, as noted by Eater. This is an underhanded way to keep workers from earning overtime pay. By signing a document, workers could block themselves from filing a lawsuit.

“This is an independent contractor position”

Regular employees are sometimes misclassified as independent contractors. That way, employers do not have to pay them overtime. If a worker has no say in where she or he works, what hours she or he works or how work gets done, that person is most likely not an independent contractor.

“Take care of this (non-exempt) task”

Some employers assign job tasks that are not exempt from overtime pay to employees who are exempt from receiving overtime pay. If the employee is not aware of this, she or he does not know to ask for overtime pay.

It is a good idea for employees to make themselves aware of the latest overtime laws. That way, they can act faster on potential employer violations.