One of your children has a birthday coming up, and you want to buy them a nice present. Money is tight, as it is for so many people these days. To make it work, you decide to pick up some overtime hours. This way, you can make extra money that will stretch beyond the boundaries of your budget to pay for that present.
However, after you work the hours, you only receive your regular pay. Your boss tells you that they’ll pay you the overtime rate – which is supposed to be time and a half – in the future. Maybe they say it was an oversight. Maybe they just try to brush it off and claim that they’ll get around to it when they can. Obviously, this is very frustrating for you because it completely undermines the reason that you took the overtime hours in the first place. Is what your boss is doing legal?
You should be paid in the same pay period
If your boss is withholding your overtime pay, that is illegal. You deserve to be paid, and you should be paid during the same pay period in which you worked those hours. Your boss doesn’t have to pay you any sooner than they would otherwise, but they do have to stick to the same schedule as mandated by Indiana law. If you have already gotten your next paycheck and you didn’t get the overtime pay earned during the pay period reflected on the check, your boss has violated this regulation.
Can you get comp time?
One thing that employers will sometimes do is to tell workers that they should take comp time. Rather than getting extra pay, they can take more hours off. What if your boss comes to you and tells you that you should just do that instead of insisting on being paid for your overtime?
If the employer is a government entity, comp time is allowed. A private employer may allow you to take equivalent time off within the same week. If not, and you are in the private sector, you may be owed overtime wages.
If your employer is not compensating you properly, know that you have rights. Seeking legal guidance to clarify those rights and your options under the law may be helpful.