Does an Employee Working Over 40 Hours at Two Locations Need To Be Paid Overtime?

Question:

We have an hourly employee who will be working at two different locations and under two titles, 25 hours at one location and 25 hours at the other. Will he need to be paid overtime?

Answer from Kara, JD, SPHR:

 

Yes. Titles, job duties, and locations are irrelevant—focus only on the total number of hours worked by the individual for your organization.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees must be paid overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek for a single employer. In some cases, an employee working a schedule like this for two separate companies may even be entitled to overtime, assuming the organizations have the same owners and management or otherwise qualify as joint employers.

Failure to pay overtime may result in significant penalties, as employees who bring a successful claim are often entitled to double what they should have earned in overtime under federal law and frequently have similar remedies under state law.