Most people consider eight hours a standard workday and 40 hours a typical workweek. Occasionally, employers may request that workers put in longer hours. Professionals in the medical sector often work 12-hour shifts, for example, to minimize disruptions to patient support.
Many businesses also occasionally require overtime work. A manufacturing company with a large order may ask employees to stay extra hours after the end of a shift or might ask them to come in on the weekend. Other companies have totally different attitudes about overtime. They want to prevent it at all costs.
They may even have a company policy forbidding overtime without the prior approval of a manager or someone in the corporate office. Employers may try to enforce no-overtime policies by denying workers wages after they have put in extra hours. Is it lawful for businesses in Kentucky to deny workers overtime pay because of a business policy?
Federal law protects overtime wage rights
The right to receive overtime pay stems from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA is a federal statute mandating numerous pay-related standards. When workers put in more than 40 hours in a specific workweek, they deserve 150% of their usual hourly wages for the extra time worked.
Some salaried employees may be exempt from this rule. However, all hourly workers have a right to overtime wages. Company policy is not more important than federal statutes. If the worker put in the time, then the company has to pay them for it in accordance with the law. Typically, the workers should not face any sort of punishment or retaliation for working extra time and requesting the pay that they earned through their labor.
Employers sometimes try to take advantage of employees’ lack of legal knowledge. They may insist that company policy dictates what wages the workers receive. In scenarios where employers refuse to pay what they should for work already performed, workers may need to pursue wage and hour lawsuits.
Documenting overtime worked and pay received can help employees demand the wages that they deserve. Those pursuing overtime wage claims may need help navigating the legal system, and that’s okay. With the right support, a wage and hour lawsuit can lead to employees receiving previously-denied overtime wages.
