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I saw this article earlier today and thought some of you might find it helpful.

Bankrate.com
Should you be getting overtime?
Friday February 16, 6:00 am ET
Dana Dratch

Whether you're hourly or salaried, blue-collar or white-collar, if you've been giving your boss more than 40 hours a week, you're due time-and-a-half for each hour of overtime unless you fit into one of the exceptions.

"The basic rule is that employees are entitled to overtime" unless the employer can show that they fall into one of the exceptions, says David Borgen, co-chair of the wage and hour committee for the National Employment Lawyers Association and partner with the California-based firm of Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian.

The employer has the burden of proving the employee fits the category, he says.

If employees "think they are being cheated on their pay, they probably are -- and they should investigate," says Borgen. "Employees are woefully underinformed and employers aren't much better."

"The issue is not if you go over 40 hours," says Rachel Geman, partner with the firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. "The issue is when you go over 40 hours."

Do you qualify for overtime? Here's the basic test under the federal rules. If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, you're probably entitled to overtime.

Do you qualify for overtime?

• Do you get paid by the hour?
  
• Do you make a salary that goes down if you miss work?
  
• Is your weekly salary consistent, but less than $455 a week?

If you meet any of these criteria, and aren't getting overtime for extra hours, "don't panic, but it's a real wake-up call to educate yourself," Geman says.

Get paid by the piece or by the trip instead of by the hour? That alone doesn't exempt you from overtime pay, says Todd Nierman, shareholder in the Indianapolis office of Littler Mendelson, PC. The fact that you are "not being paid hourly is not going to change that," he says.

The exemptions
Some groups of salaried people are exempt from overtime pay. To be included in one of them, you must first meet three criteria:

3 criteria you must first meet

• Receive flat salary, rather than hourly wage.
  
• Earn the same amount each pay period (regardless of how many days or hours you've worked).
  
• Weekly salary is equal to or greater than $455. (The minimum may be higher in some states.)

If you meet all three tests and your job falls into one of several categories, you could be exempt from overtime. Here are a few of the most common exemption categories:

6 most common exemptions:
1. The executive exemption
2. The administrative exemption
3. The professional exemption
4. The outside sales exemption
5. The inside (retail) sales exemption
6. The computer exemption

1. The executive exemption: Is your primary duty supervising two or more full-time people? If so, the law says that you don't get overtime. But "supervising," has to mean that you've got some clout -- the ability to hire, fire, discipline, etc. If you're just the head assistant to the assistant manager and "supervising" consists of reminding the night staff to leave their Nintendos at home, that doesn't count.

Be sure to examine your actual duties, not your title. "Just because someone's called a manager doesn't mean they're exempt from overtime," says Geman.

2. The administrative exemption: This is one of the most misinterpreted exceptions. It covers people who impact the management or business of their employer or the employer's customers. Often, it's misconstrued to include secretarial staff. But it really covers people like human resource heads and chief accountants, who may not directly supervise anyone, but who make decisions on behalf of the firm. The test: You have to exercise independent judgment and discretion. Do you have the power to make decisions unsupervised? Do you formulate or affect management policies? Can you speak for the employer or enter into contracts on matters of financial importance without supervision? Can you waive established policies? Do you offer expert advice? If so, you might qualify in this category.

3. The professional exemption: This is "a pretty narrow exception to cover people who have advanced degrees and some level of education," says Nierman. Usually, the education goes beyond a bachelor's degree and includes other specialized study. Some of the jobs covered include: doctors, lawyers, engineers and professors.

4. The outside sales exemption: If you are a sales person who is "customarily and regularly" making sales away from your employer's office, you could be exempt from overtime pay.

5. The inside (retail) sales exemption: If you're in a retail or service business and make more than half of your salary from commissions, you could be exempt from overtime.

But this is "not applicable for people in the financial service industry, like brokers or loan officers," says Borgen.

6. The computer exemption: If your primary duty is the creation or architecture of software, you could also be exempt. But if you spend time on the computer testing or troubleshooting, rather than designing programs, then the computer exemption probably wouldn't apply.

This is also one of the rare instances where you can be paid hourly and still be exempt from overtime. But your hourly rate must be at least $27.63, says Nierman.

The biggest problem when it comes to overtime? Misclassification. Employees and employers believe the worker falls into one of the exception categories when they don't.

State laws
Brush up on state laws governing overtime pay. Laws can vary from state to state. While states may strengthen the federal standards that protect employees, they can't weaken them.

One example: Federal law says that to qualify for one of the exemption groups, your weekly salary has to be at least $455. But some states may require a higher pay rate in order to be exempt.

Congratulations! Now what?
OK, you suspect that you should be receiving overtime. Now how do you get it?

In a perfect world, you would go to your boss, remind him or her that you had been overlooked and soon be presented with a check for all the uncompensated overtime you've logged. The law says you're entitled to all the back pay you should have received from the moment you were misclassified. And employers are not allowed to punish, reprimand or fire you for requesting it.

But in the real world, your success in getting back pay and maintaining a harmonious work relationship may depend on why you weren't getting overtime in the first place. If your employer genuinely does not understand the law (and many don't), then it might just take a friendly reminder.

If, on the other hand, you've got a manager who is skirting overtime rules to cut costs, you might need to take a different approach. If management is really underhanded, you could be fired. (Although your superior would have to give an alternative explanation because terminating someone for requesting overtime is illegal -- and could open the company up to federal scrutiny and a lawsuit.).

Here are a few ways to approach the situation:

1. Gather information.
2. Start a notebook.
3. Try to pinpoint the problem.
4. Investigate company remedies.
5. Write down your complaint.
6. File a complaint with U.S. Department of Labor.
7. Find out if your state offers any assistance.
8 Hire an attorney.

1. Gather information. Before you do anything, learn more about the law. Read about your rights under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. See minimum wage rates for each state. Or ask a question confidentially by calling the federal Department of Labor at: (866) 487-9243. You can also get information from your state department of labor.

2. Start a notebook. "Keep meticulous records," says Eric Kingsley, partner in Kingsley & Kingsley, LA-based firm that represents employees in wage and hour issues. Some examples: time cards, a work diary with hours and duties or a calendar with the times of day you start and stop work.

3. Try to pinpoint the problem. Is the overtime situation specific to select managers, or ingrained in the corporate culture? "In areas where people are instructed to work off the clock, it's often not a company-wide or corporate issue," says Nierman. Many times it is a local issue or rogue manager trying to save money, he says.

In that, as in other instances, he says, "the most effective way -- and usually the quickest and most likely to get things remedied -- is to bring it to the attention of management."

"That might not be your direct supervisor," Nierman says. And if you suspect your own manager is the problem, this is one way around him.

"Work your way up the chain of command," says Kingsley. "Most companies want to do right." Some avenues of possible help: the human resources department, a regional (as opposed to direct) manager, corporate counsel or any hotline the company might have established for airing grievances.

4. Investigate company remedies. To protect themselves (and their workers), many companies establish some sort of procedure to keep management in the loop about potential problems. Sometimes it's informal, like chatting with the human resources administrator. Or it could be more formal, like a special hotline.

5. Write down your complaint. When you do approach your company, follow up with an e-mail or memo, "so you have something in writing to show a request was made," says Borgen.

6. File a complaint with U.S. Department of Labor. If you lodge a complaint, the department will likely audit the company's wage and hour practices, often for many different positions.

7. Find out if your state offers any assistance. Many states, like California, Oregon, Washington, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, have strong labor laws, says Kingsley. "There may be a remedy available to you without hiring a lawyer."

8. Hire an attorney. While you're protected under federal law, this step could make your work life more difficult. "Usually my clients come to me after they've already left," says Kingsley.

The federal statute of limitations for going back to an ex-employer for overtime is three years. Some states, like California and New York, allow more time. But usually, to make it worth an attorney's time, the dispute amount has to be at least $10,000 or several employees are making similar claims.