The way that companies pay their workers and the terms of an employment contract have a direct influence on those workers’ rights. The method that a company uses to calculate pay a worker for their time may have a direct impact on the other rights that employee has.
The Supreme Court has recently had to weigh in on overtime pay rights and determined that daily workers, much like hourly workers, have a right to overtime compensation.
Daily workers have more rights than they might realize
The way that a company structures a worker’s compensation will directly influence that worker’s rights. Someone paid on a salary basis, for example, typically receives the same wages every week regardless of how much they work. They will usually be exempt from overtime pay requirements.
Those paid on an hourly basis can expect to receive 150% of their average hourly wage when they put in more than 40 hours in a single week. A recent Supreme Court ruling establishes that daily workers have many of the same protections as hourly workers because what they earn varies depending on how much work they perform.
Extra days on would mean extra income, and therefore uncompensated overtime denies someone the extra money they could have earned for working those extra hours. Workers who believe they have a right to overtime but cannot receive the pay they deserve from their employer may need to consider bringing a wage claim.
Tracking changes to employment and wage laws, including key federal court rulings, may benefit those put in very long shifts and believe they deserve overtime pay.
