Calculating overtime pay for nonexempt employees sounds so simple. Common folk lore says you simply count the hours the employee works beyond 40 hours a week. Then you multiply that by 1.5 times their hourly pay rate and you’re done, right? Not so fast. The truth is that overtime rules and the mathematics required to arrive at the correct calculation can be extremely tricky. Overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act is based on a unique term, created in 1938, known as the regular rate of pay. And calculating the regular rate of pay is more complex than it appears. What’s included in the calculation? The reasonable cost of meals, lodging, nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions, on-call pay, shift differentials, cash benefit payments from Section 125 Cafeteria Plans, the list goes on… And that’s just computing the regular rate – we haven’t even touched overtime yet! For example, when a bonus must be included in calculating the rate what overtime does it apply to? When the bonus is paid or when the bonus was earned? What if the bonus spans a long period of time such as a quarter or a full year?
Then what happens if you get it wrong? Nobody pays attention, do they? According to the Department of Labor, they collected more than $230 million in back wages for more than 190,000 workers in FY 2021 alone. Of that amount collected, $138 million was for back overtime.
Penalties for overtime violations can be severe with the possibility of fines, imprisonment or both! Add civil suits to the mix and the results can be devastating to any business no matter how large or small! And just to make it interesting, most states use the same definition to calculate overtime as the FLSA does. So, one error can earn you double the penalties.
Vicki M. Lambert, CPP, is President and Academic Director of The Payroll Advisor™, a firm specializing in payroll education and training. The company’s website www.thepayrolladvisor.com offers a payroll news service which keeps payroll professionals up-to-date on the latest rules and regulations.
With 40 years of hands-on experience in all facets of payroll functions as well as over three decades as a trainer and author, Ms. Lambert has become the most sought-after and respected voice in the practice and management of payroll issues. She has conducted open market training seminars on payroll issues across the United States that have been attended by executives and professionals from some of the most prestigious firms in business today.
A pioneer in electronic and online education, Ms. Lambert produces and presents payroll related audio seminars, webinars and webcasts for clients, APA chapters and business groups throughout the country. Ms. Lambert now presents a weekly podcast, Payroll 24/7, on all things payrolls.
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