Utah Overtime Law | Utah Attorneys | Phillips Law Group

Federal law governs the right to overtime pay in Utah; the law is called the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA. The FLSA requires you to be paid not less than time-and-a-half of your regular pay for the hours over 40 you work in a workweek, although some exemptions apply. But not everyone is fully aware of their rights under Utah overtime law.

Just because your employer says you are exempt it doesn’t mean you are! You should call 1-800-706-3000 if you have more questions to talk to a Utah overtime rights lawyer.

Our firm will fight for your right to Utah overtime pay!

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Free consultation by phone: 1-800-706-3000 . No fees to start your case and no fees unless we win.

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT OVERTIME EXEMPTIONS*

• That employees who are paid a salary are exempt. First of all, exemption decisions are based on the job duties and responsibilities, not on the fact of being paid hourly or by salary. There is a category of employees who are salaried and non-exempt. These employees are not paid extra for the hours they work over 40 in a week; however, they are due the overtime premium when they work overtime.

• That if an employee’s job title is that of manager, supervisor, or administrator, he or she is exempt. The title is not determinative; again, the job duties, not the title, determine the exemption.

• That highly compensated employees are exempt. Highly-compensated employees are more likely to be exempt, but that is not the determining factor.

• That employees who are college-educated and perform white-collar office work are exempt. Again, job duties, not education or clothing, determine the exemption.
• That employees who have advanced degrees are exempt. (See above)

• That if employees prefer to be paid a salary and do not want to record their time, it is OK to treat them as exempt. Employees can’t give up their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act. And employers have to maintain their obligations under the Act, including tracking hours worked and paying overtime.

• That if employees who have been classified as exempt don’t work overtime, it doesn’t matter if they are misclassified. Perhaps their amount of pay won’t be affected, but the employer will still be violating provisions of the FLSA. For example, the record-keeping requirements of FLSA must be adhered to, and there are other tricky situations relating to meal periods, breaks, time off, and leave that will cause trouble (and cost big money) eventually.

*(From the Compensation Daily Advisor Newsletter)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON UTAH OVERTIME LAW

Is my company covered by the FLSA?

According to the Department of Labor, employees who work for businesses have at least two employees, and are:

(1) those that have an annual dollar volume of sales or business done of at least $500,000 or

(2) hospitals, businesses providing medical or nursing care for residents, schools and preschools, and government agencies

Even when there is no enterprise coverage, employees are protected by the FLSA if their work regularly involves them in commerce between States (“interstate commerce”). The FLSA covers individual workers who are “engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.”

Examples of employees who are involved in interstate commerce include those who: produce goods a worker assembling components in a factory or a secretary typing letters in an office that will be sent out of state, regularly make telephone calls to persons located in other States, handle records of interstate transactions, travel to other States on their jobs, and do janitorial work in buildings where goods are produced for shipment outside the State.

Also, domestic service workers (such as housekeepers, full-time babysitters, and cooks) are normally covered by the FLSA.

You should call 1-800-706-3000 if you have more questions and talk to a Utah overtime rights lawyer.

Are Independent Contractors owed overtime?

You might have a right to overtime if your employer has classified you as an independent contractor. True independent contractors are not owed overtime. But many workers are misclassified as independent contractors when they are really employees.

Just because your employer tells you that you are an independent contractor doesn’t mean 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. You should call 1-800-706-3000 if you have more questions and talk to a Utah overtime rights lawyer.

Are salaried employees owed overtime?

If you are paid a fixed salary but are nonexempt under the FLSA, you are owed overtime. Some employers think that they can make you an exempt employee just by paying you a fixed salary, but they can’t. Other employers think that if you agree to be paid a fixed salary in exchange for not being paid overtime, then you are an exempt employee but that does not make you exempt from overtime. You should call 1-800-706-3000 if you have more questions and talk to a Utah overtime rights lawyer.

How many hours is considered full-time employment?

According to the Department of Labor, the FLSA does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. This is a matter generally to be determined by the 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 workweek. You should call 1-800-706-3000 if you have more questions and talk to a Utah overtime rights 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 are paid not less than time and one-half the employee’s regular rate for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek.

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 with pay stubs.

Where to Obtain Additional Information?

For additional information, call 1-800-706-3000 and talk to a Utah employment lawyer.

UTAH MINIMUM WAGE LAW

Utah 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 $7.25 per hour, although some exemptions apply. But just because your employer says you are exempt it doesn’t mean you are exempt. You should call 1-800-706-3000 if you have more questions for a Utah employment lawyer.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON UTAH 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 the 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:

1) The amount of cash wage the employer is paying you, which must be at least $2.13 per hour.

2) The additional amount claimed by the employer as a tip credit, which cannot exceed $5.12 (the difference between the minimum required cash wage of $2.13 and the current minimum wage of $7.25).

3) The tip credit claimed by the employer cannot exceed the amount of tips actually received by you.

4) All tips received by you are to be retained by the employee except for a valid tip pooling.

5) 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 of these items. An employer who fails to provide the required information cannot use the tip credit provisions and therefore must pay you at least $7.25 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 your tips combined with wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference. You should call 1-800-706-3000 if you have more questions on this topic for a Utah 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 receive 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 employee’s tips for any other purpose. You should call 1-800-706-3000 if you have more questions about this for a Utah employment 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 employees pool and share their tips.

Please call 1-800-706-3000 if you have more questions regarding Utah overtime law to ask a Utah employment lawyer!