If your employer requires you to work additional hours in a day or week, there is a chance you qualify for overtime pay. The law dictates what constitutes overtime and requires special overtime pay. However, not every situation where you work more hours will qualify because the overtime pay requirement depends on how many hours in total you end up working.
According to the Indiana Department of Labor, overtime pay begins when you work more than 40 hours in one week. Pay for hours worked over 40 in one week is time and one-half. It is important to note that the overtime calculation in this state is strictly by the week and not the day. Some other states may use daily work hours to institute overtime pay, but Indiana does not. In addition, your employer can make it mandatory to work overtime.
Part-time workers
Part-time employees will usually never get overtime pay because they do not work enough hours in total. However, if you are a part-time employee and you do work over 40 hours in one week, then you will earn overtime pay for any hours over 40 as long as there is not an exemption under the most-current overtime laws.
Employees of exempt employers
While most employers must follow minimum wage and overtime laws, some do not. If your employer is exempt from these laws, then it does not have to pay you overtime regardless of how many hours you work in a single week.
Other exempt workers
There are some other situations in which an employer does not have to pay overtime. One example is when your work falls under federal jurisdiction. Federal overtime laws differ from state laws in many ways. You should verify that your work is under state jurisdiction before you make any attempt to collect overtime that you feel your employer has withheld.
