The Ins and Outs of Overtime Pay for Salaried Administrative Employees Per Massachusetts and Federal Laws
Determining Whether Salaried Administrative Employees are Entitled to Overtime Pay Under Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws
According to Massachusetts and Federal laws, administrative employees are entitled to overtime pay unless they are (1) paid a guaranteed salary of at least $684/week and (2) perform certain types of duties. Massachusetts employers must satisfy both parts of this test (the salary part and the duties part) in order to avoid paying an employee overtime.
should salaried ADMINISTRATIVE employees working in Human Resources, marketing, advertising, finance, accounting, IT, purchasing, or Billing in Massachusetts be paid overtime?
Regardless of your job title, your employer has to satisfy both a salary test and a duties test to legally classify you as exempt from overtime pay. If your salary is at least $684 per week then we move on to the duties test. If your salary is less than $455 per week, then you should be getting paid overtime.
The most common duties exemption applied to administrative employees in Massachusetts is known as the ‘administrative exemption.’ To satisfy the duties test for administrative employees, an employer must prove the following:
the employee’s primary duty must be the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers; and
the employee’s primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.
Both of the duties test requirements as well as the salary test requirement must be met in order for an employee to be disqualified from overtime pay under the administrative exemption. If an employer cannot prove each of these elements as it relates to your duties and salary, then you should be paid overtime.
If you are a Massachusetts employee that is paid a salary and consistently working over 40 hours a week you may be entitled to overtime pay. Consult with an employment attorney today.
