The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal law which governs your right to overtime pay in Arizona. FLSA ensures that if you work over 40 hours per week, then you are paid at least time-and-a-half for that overtime. While some exemptions apply to this law, don’t take your employer’s word if you are told FLSA doesn’t apply to you. Get the facts about your right to overtime pay and talk to an Arizona overtime rights attorney.
Your time to file a claim could be limited–act now and protect your rights!
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COMMON MYTHS ABOUT OVERTIME EXEMPTIONS
- MYTH: Employees who are paid a salary are exempt.FACT: Exemptions decisions are based on the amount you make per year, the basis for your salary, and your job duties or responsibility. Some salaried workers are exempt, and some are not.
- MYTH: If an employee’s job title is that of manager, supervisor, or administrator, he or she is exempt. FACT: An employee’s title is not determinative; the person’s pay, salary basis, and job duties and responsibilities will determine this.
- MYTH: Highly compensated employees are exempt. FACT: Highly-compensated employees are more likely to be exempt, but pay is not the only determining factor.
- MYTH: Employees who are college-educated and perform white-collar office work are exempt. FACT: Again, factors like pay, salary basis, and job duties and responsibilities determine whether or not an employee is exempt from FLSA.
- MYTH: Employees who have advanced degrees are exempt. FACT: While advanced educations make it more likely that an employee will be in an exempt position, education is not determinative.
- MYTH: If employees prefer to be paid a salary and do not want to record their time, it is OK to treat them as exempt. FACT: Employees cannot give up their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers must maintain their obligations under the Act, including tracking employees’ hours worked and overtime due.
- MYTH: If employees who have been classified as exempt don’t work overtime, it doesn’t matter if they are misclassified. FACT: Even if an employee’s pay is not affected, the employer would still be violating the provisions of FLSA. For example, FLSA’s record-keeping requirements must still be followed, as well as rules regarding meal periods, breaks, and time off.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON ARIZONA OVERTIME LAW
Is my company covered by the FLSA?
According to the Department of Labor, FLSA covers companies which have at least two employees and either:
- Make at least $500,000 in sales or business done annually, OR
- Are a hospital, business providing medical or nursing care, or are a government agency.
In addition, even if a business is not covered, individual employees are protected by FLSA if their work regularly involves interstate commerce, or the production of goods for commerce.
This include employees who produce goods which may be sent out of state, do business with people in other states, handle records of interstate transactions, travel to other states for work, or work in buildings where goods for out-of-state commerce are produced.
Also, domestic service workers (such as housekeepers, full-time babysitters, and cooks) are normally covered by the FLSA.
Unsure if you are covered? Call 602-222-2222 and speak with an Arizona overtime lawyer.
Are independent contractors owed overtime?
Normally, no. However, many workers are misclassified by their employers as independent contractors when they are really employees.
Just because your employer tells you that you are an independent contractor doesn’t mean that you should assume you are not owed overtime. you are an independent contractor. That is determined by Federal Law. The US Supreme Court has outlined several factors in determining if you are an independent contractor or employee. Speak with an experienced workers’ rights attorney if you are unsure if you should be receiving overtime pay.
Are salaried employees owed overtime?
If you are paid a fixed salary but are nonexempt under the FLSA, then you are owed overtime. Some employers think that they can make you an exempt employee just by paying you a fixed salary, but a fixed salary is not the only consideration.
Other employers believe that they can make their employees agree to a fixed salary in exchange for giving up their rights to overtime. This is also not the case–you cannot give up your rights under FLSA. Call 602-222-2222 if you have more questions and talk to an Arizona overtime lawyer.
How many hours is full-time employment?
The FLSA does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. This is a matter generally to be determined by your employer. Whether an employee is considered full-time or part-time does not change your right to overtime pay if you worked over 40 hours in a work week. You should call 602-222-2222 if you have more questions and talk to an Arizona overtime lawyer.
Is extra pay required for weekend or night work?
According to the Department of Labor, extra pay for working weekends or nights is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee (or the employee’s representative). The FLSA does not require extra pay for weekend or night work. However, the FLSA does require that covered, nonexempt workers be paid not less than time and one-half the employee’s regular rate for time worked over 40 hours in a work week.
Are pay stubs required?
According to the Department of Labor, the FLSA does require that employers keep accurate records of hours worked and wages paid to employees. However, the FLSA does not require an employer to provide employees pay stubs.
Where can I obtain additional information?
For additional information, you should call 602-222-2222 and talk to an Arizona overtime lawyer.
ARIZONA MINIMUM WAGE LAW
Arizona minimum wage is governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA. The FLSA requires employers to pay a minimum wage of not less than $7.90 per hour. Some exemptions apply. But just because your employer says you are exempt it doesn’t mean you are exempt. You should call 602-222-2222 if you have more questions and talk to an Arizona employment lawyer.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON ARIZONA MINIMUM WAGE LAW
Can my employer pay me less than minimum wage if I get tips?
If you regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips, your employer can use your tips as a credit against minimum wage. Tips are your property. Your employer is prohibited from using your tips for any reason other than as a credit against its minimum wage obligation or in furtherance of a valid tip pool. Only tips you actually receive may be counted in determining the tip credit.
The employer must provide the following information to you before the employer may use the tip credit:
- The amount of cash wage the employer is paying you, which must be at least $4.80 per hour.
- The additional amount claimed by the employer as a tip credit, which cannot exceed $3.00
- The tip credit claimed by the employer cannot exceed the amount of tips actually received by you.
- All tips received by you are to be retained by the employee except for a valid tip pooling.
- The tip credit will not apply to you unless the employee has been informed of these tip credit provisions.
The employer may provide oral or written notice to you these items. An employer who fails to provide the required information cannot use the tip credit provisions and therefore must pay you at least $7.90 per hour in wages and allow you to keep all tips received.
Employers electing to use the tip credit provision must be able to show that you receive at least the minimum wage when wages and the tip credit amount are combined. If you’re tips combined with wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage hour, the employer must make up the difference. You should call 602-222-2222 if you have more questions and talk to an Arizona employment lawyer.
Can my employer force me to participate in a tip pool?
Your employer can set up a tip pool among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, waitresses, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), bussers, and service bartenders. A valid tip pool may not include employees who do not customarily and regularly received tips, such as dishwashers, cooks, chefs, and janitors. The FLSA does not impose a maximum contribution amount or percentage on valid mandatory tip pools. The employer, however, must notify you of any required tip pool contribution amount, may only take a tip credit for the amount of tips each tipped employee ultimately receives, and may not retain any of the employees’ tips for any other purpose. You should call 602-222-2222 if you have more questions and talk to an Arizona overtime lawyer.
Can my employer keep part of my tips?
No. A tip is your sole property regardless of whether the employer takes a tip credit. The FLSA prohibits any arrangement between the employer and the tipped employee whereby any part of the tip received becomes the property of the employer. For example, even where you receive minimum wage directly from the employer, you cannot be required to turn over your tips to the employer. The employer can set up a tip pool where all the tipped employers pool and share their tips. You should call 602-222-2222 if you have more questions and talk to an Arizona employment lawyer.
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