Unpaid Overtime

yankee49

We have an hourly worker in our accounting department that has had to work some overtime to handle payables and receivables. I have been doing payroll to help her out as well as doing my own HR work.

Her manager approved her overtime, however, our VP has said he will not. So she has been taking her OT as time off.

One, as a non-exempt, can she do that? Two, does she take one and one half hours per OT hour worked?

marc

If it is within the same pay week, you can take time off, and in some cases, that may require time and a half, but for the most part, overtime must be paid for the week it was incurred. Even if the OT was not approved, you owe it if it was worked. You can discipline for not following the policy to get the OT approved, but you still have to pay. It sounds like this EE worked it and even had some level of approval, think what would happen if an upper level of management could avoid OT obligations by simply not approving OT. If that were the case, I would submit that it would hardly ever be paid. Nice deal, get the immediate supervisor to approve 60 hour weeks and then after it has been worked, his boss comes in and says, "Sorry, OT not approved!" It just does not work that way.

Pay the OT, then get a system in place that will not let it be worked without all approvals in advance.

LindaS

Private sector employers are not permitted to all "comp time" in lieu of overtime payment. In addition, if the time was worked, your VP cannot refuse to pay the employee. If he/she does, it is a violation of the FLSA. If your employee is working after she has been instructed not to, deal with it from a disciplinary situation. Payment for non-exempt employees is to be made for all hours worked, or suffered to work, if the employer knew, or should have known that the employee was working.