Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida

Employer says I'm non-exempt, salaried but discontinued overtime??

I was hired as exempt but our paychecks state an hourly rate & then it is multiplied by 83 hours on our paycheck (we get paid bi weekly). For some reason, ALL employees of my company, regardless of exempt or non-exempt are given a little more than 40 hours a week.

A few months after starting, we got busy & we all were given an unlimited amount of overtime to stay current. This continued on for 6 or 7 months. When things slowed down a LITTLE, it was taken away, stating that we were exempt employees & not entitled to overtime; that they had only done this to help us out for a few months.

We do fill out a time card every week, although it is not for my boss, it's for our corporate branch in California. He always tells us just to put 40 hours on it & not to bother writing what we actually work on it, that it's just a technicality. I work in what could be considered a professional occupation (insurance underwriter) & I do have a college degree. According to the Dept of Labor there are exemptions for this so this is why I'm confused. If we are truly exempt, why did they ever give us overtime in the first place, why do we fill out a time card for our corporate office & why do we have sick time that IS used when we miss a day?


Asked on 12/05/02, 8:37 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Keith Stern Shavitz Law Group

Re: Employer says I'm non-exempt, salaried but discontinued overtime??

Without knowing all of the details of the situation, I can't provide specific advice as to your situation, BUT your employer is ALLOWED to pay you overtime if they CHOOSE to even if you are in an EXEMPT position--they just are not LEGALLY REQUIRED to pay such overtime if in fact you are exempt. Alternatively, if your employer uses a Belo Plan, which establishes more than 40 hours of week in some weeks and not others, in writing, then this would also be legal. For further assistance, please feel free to contact me at (305) 810-2887.

Read more
Answered on 12/07/02, 5:14 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in Florida