Dispelling the 10 Biggest Wage and Hour Myths: Part VI

Wage and Hour Myth #6

An employee who works unauthorized overtime is not entitled to overtime pay.  This is 100% incorrect.  Consider this scenario:  Fred asks his boss if he can work on Saturday to get caught up with his work; Fred’s boss says no because he does not want to incur the overtime cost; Fred disregards his boss’s decision and works 8 hours of overtime on Saturday; when his boss finds out, he is furious because of Fred’s insubordination; the boss refuses to pay Fred for the overtime work because it was “not authorized.”  Fred’s boss has violated the FLSA.  All hours worked, even unauthorized hours, must be paid to the employee.  The employer’s recourse here is discipline or termination, not withholding pay.  In our scenario, Fred must be paid but will likely be polishing up his resume.

TGIF.  Check back on Monday for Wage and Hour Myth #7.