ASK KIM
Going Into Overtime
by Kimberly Lankford

I read recently that people earning more than $23,000 may not get overtime pay. I know of a few employers who pay overtime to those earning at least $35,000. What is the rule?

The government doesn't decide who can't be paid overtime; the law provides for who must be.

The rules that took effect last summer require that workers earning less than $23,660 a year be paid overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a week. The pay must be at least one and a half times their regular rate.

The law also requires that employers pay overtime to certain workers, who can earn as much as $100,000, although employees who hold executive, administrative, professional and computer jobs, and those who work in outside sales and a few other positions, are generally exempt.

For more information about who is exempt, see the Department of Labor's FairPay Web page.