A lot of us had worked in an 8 am – 5 pm or 9 am – 6 pm jobs as we enter the labor market. Most offices operate during these business hours. We all know that the productivity of an employee to accomplish the tasks and projects assigned to him in approximately 8 hours. That’s why as much as possible, we’re grinding our daily life scrunching up on accomplishing all our responsibilities and obligations. However, sometimes we felt like the 8 hours is not enough, especially if we have some deadline to beat for a project. Or if not, an unexpected scenario or emergency happened and you need to address it as soon as possible as it couldn’t wait another day. That’s why we couldn’t help but take some overtime work to meet the demands.

And we all know how overtime work can both be a blessing and a curse. A blessing in a sense that we’ve been geared to think that an overtime work means overtime pay. Since we extended our working hours than normal, it only seemed natural that we get paid for it, right? However, an overtime might also be a curse for us since some businesses are hesitant to pay for our overtime work. Aside from that, it kills our motivation to leave early and finally call it a day. Imagine when you’re excited to log off from work just to get home and finally rest? Only to find out you couldn’t do it just yet. It isn’t fair if we wouldn’t get compensated for our hard work, right?

Can you really receive a compensation for your overtime work? Let us discuss several scenarios you’ll be encountering in a labor workforce to know your rights.

Non-exempt Workers Are Entitled to an Overtime Pay

The non-exempt employees are the typical employees we see in everyday offices and businesses. These employees work around 40 hours per week, and so they are entitled to an overtime pay for every extra time they rendered beyond their working hours. The FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) rules stated that they must be paid overtime at the rate of not less than 1.5 times their hourly rate for each hour. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour but some states offer a higher minimum hourly rate.

Here are also the pros and cons of non-exempt workers:

Pros:

• You are entitled to overtime rates.
• You have the option to earn more money (if you wish) by opting to work overtime.

Cons:

• You stand to lose money if your hours ever reduced.
• Depending on the company, you may not have the same benefits and perks as an exempt worker.

Exempt Workers Are Not Entitled to Overtime Pay

The exempt workers, on the other hand, are not entitled to overtime pays. This is because it’s already stated in their profession that they should commit to their responsibilities and obligations and submit to the people first. These exempt workers are known as the white-collared employees. Most of them are working in the government, administrative, and executive functions and their salaries are generally fixed rates. They are also entitled to a minimum wage.

“For now, the overtime rule will not take effect as planned Dec. 1 [2016], but it could still be implemented later down the road.”

Pros:

• You have a reliable and fixed income monthly.
• You often earn more based on a salary than those who get paid an hourly rate.
• You often have more access to better benefits and perks.

Cons:

• You are not entitled to overtime rates.
• You may have to work much longer hours in order to meet your workload.

Know Your Rights and Be a Smart Employee

Now that you know the two classifications of employees and how their payroll system works, it’s important for you to know where you stand. We recommend you to be keen on the clock in clock out system. Be sure to log yourself when you start and end your work to avoid any miscalculations on your payroll. Aside from this, did you know that starting early is counted as an overtime too? Yes. So be sure to log in your work hours even if it’s earlier than usual. Remember that every minute or even seconds you punch in counts. Be also aware of the changes of the salary policies in your respective companies.