Many in Austin may often joke that no one is ever paid enough for the work that they do. Whether the nature of your work warrant the salary that you receive is a subjective debate; the effort that you put into fulfilling the expectations of your job is not. When it is required that such goes above and beyond what is normally expected, you should be compensated accordingly. Many have come to us here at the Law Offices of Kell A. Simon saying that their employers have told them the decision regarding whether to offer any added compensation is one left up to individual companies. That is not the case.
When you typically think of added compensation, you are referencing overtime pay. The obligation to pay you and your coworkers overtime is not one that your employer assumes on its own but rather is mandated by federal law. Indeed, per the Fair Labor Standards Act, any company that requires its employees to work beyond the traditional 40-hour workweek must pay its employees at one and one-half times their normal wage for any additional hours worked. If your employer tells you that such a requirement only applies to hourly employees, you can answer with the fact that Texas law requires any salaried employee that is paid less than $455 per week must be paid overtime for additional hours (provided their work doe not fall into the category of recognized overtime exemptions).
What if you are asked to work odd hours? The law technically does not require your employer to offer you differential pay for working nights and weekends, yet if doing so pushes your schedule above 40 hours, you should be paid overtime pay.
More information on your wage and hour rights can be found throughout our site.
