Excluding certain industry-specific exceptions, federal andstate law requires that the nonexempt employees be paid when theywork overtime. Nonexempt employees must be paid one-and-a-halftimes their normal rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40hours during a workweek. A workweek is defined as seven consecutive24-hour periods. Although a workweek can begin on any day, it mustbe fixed for that employee and can’t be changed so as to evadeapplicable overtime laws.
Most states have their own overtime laws, and if they’re morefavorable to employees, those are the ones you must follow. Forexample, under California law, employees who work more than eighthours during a single day are entitled to overtime, even if theydon’t work more than 40 hours during a given workweek (the federalrequirement).
Remember, nonexempt employees can be salaried as well as hourly.So don’t make the mistake of assuming that just because an employeeis salaried, he or she is exempt from overtime.
