If You Work Overtime, You Must Be Paid More Than Your Normal Wage

If you work overtime over a forty-hour workweek in Texas, you must be paid at the overtime rate for hours worked, and you can file a wage claim with the Department of Labor to get your unpaid wages. FLSA compliance requires non-exempt employees to get time-and-a-half their regular rate for overtime pay, and employers are liable for back pay and liquidated damages for unpaid overtime hours. Hourly workers must file a wage theft claim within the statute of limitations to recover statutory penalties for mandatory overtime or recordkeeping violations.

In the United States, federal and state laws protect hourly employees from employer exploitation. At the federal level, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the legal minimum wage, the number of hours an employee may work in a week or day before they’re required to receive overtime pay, and the laws for employing workers under the age of 18.

The Texas Payday Law governs all aspects of private-sector employment. The standard workweek in the United States is 40 total hours. Although there is no limit to the number of hours workers over the age of 16 may work in a seven-day, 168-hour period, once a worker has completed a 40-hour workweek, they must be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for every hour worked beyond 40. 

Who Is an Employee?

It is important to note that these rules apply only to individuals who are considered to be employees of their companies, not independent contractors. Independent contractors are workers who are contracted for specific tasks. They are not subject to certain protections, such as overtime pay and workers’ compensation coverage. Often, but not always, independent contractors and their clients agree on a fixed rate for the services rendered before work begins.

It is illegal for an employer to attempt to circumvent the required protections for employees by hiring them as exempt employees or independent contractors. If an employer directs or controls a worker with regard to when and how labor is performed and the results achieved, the worker is an employee. If the worker sets their own rates and hours, and handles their own taxes and expenses, they’re an independent contractor.

Get the Pay You Deserve

If your employer tries to take advantage of you through low or withheld pay or illegal working hours, find an experienced lawyer in our directory for legal help.

Find a lawyer today

Overtime and Minimum Wage Requirements

There are no federal or state requirements to pay workers special overtime wages for working on holidays or weekends. The only circumstance under which an employee must be paid more than his or her regular rate of pay is if he or she works overtime. 

In Texas, the state minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage. 

Reaching Out to an Attorney

If you’re an employee and believe you’re entitled to unpaid wages, contacting a reputable wage and hour law attorney for advice is a logical next step.

“Sometimes people just want to call to see what their rights are,” says J. Derek Braziel, an attorney with Braziel | Dixon in Dallas who exclusively deals with unpaid wage claims and overtime requirements. The firm accepts those calls and, if they find reason to believe there’s a violation, “We ask them if they’re ready to bring a lawsuit and seek to recover their unpaid overtime rate.”

Braziel doesn’t always file a lawsuit. Sometimes, depending on the size of the employer and circumstances of the case, he’ll send a demand letter for overtime compensation. “In our experience, between 98-100% of the cases we take settle,” he says. The costs associated with litigation mean most employers would rather seek an out-of-court resolution than a trial.

“Most of the cases that we file are referred to as collective actions,” Braziel explains. “We’re always looking to see if what an employer is doing applies to other employees, is across the company, or even just in one location. We see how widespread it is.”

Under a collective action, damages are calculated on a plaintiff-by-plaintiff basis, “meaning, someone who worked there for three years and did 10 overtime hours a week would be getting a lot more in recovery than a six-month employee working two hours of overtime.”

Find Legal Help

For more information and personalized legal advice, contact a local wage and hour law attorney.