There are many ways for employers to mistreat their workers and violate their rights. Failing to pay overtime wages is a common workplace issue. The legal obligation to pay at least 150% of a worker’s standard hourly wage can quickly eat into company profits. While some businesses rely on overtime to keep the company productive, many others do everything they can to avoid paying overtime wages.
Some companies manipulate time clock records to avoid overtime responsibilities. Others may train workers to do part of their job off the clock without the pay they deserve. Another manipulative tactic employed by businesses involves establishing a no-overtime policy.
It is fully legal for a company to decide that overtime wages are too costly and to prevent workers from putting in more than 40 hours in any given work week. Restricting how long employees work is perfectly legal. So is requiring pre-approval from management or the corporate offices before a worker puts in overtime hours. That being said, sometimes the way that companies enforce no-overtime policies violates the rights of individual employees.
Workers who put in overtime deserve overtime pay
Workers aren’t entitled to work for as long as they want. Employers have the option of carefully scheduling workers to avoid overtime hours and to send workers home so that they don’t put in more than 40 hours in any given work week.
However, if the worker does qualify for overtime pay, the company can no longer enforce its overtime policy. The worker generally should not face discipline for working additional time, especially if they did so at the request of their supervisor or the manager on duty at the time.
It is not appropriate to punish an individual worker for putting in extra hours. Doing so could be a form of retaliation for workers simply asserting their basic federal right to overtime wages. Additionally, it is not appropriate or legal for a business to refuse to pay appropriate wages for time already worked.
Employees denied appropriate compensation for extra hours or shifts they had to work may have grounds for a wage and hour claim. In cases where the company has repeatedly refused to pay overtime wages, groups of workers may be able to cooperate in a class action filing. Holding employers accountable for inappropriate business practices can potentially help to change how a company treats its workers and compensate those who have not received the wages they earned.