Practice Over Policy - Overtime Wages Are Due For All Hours Worked Even If Workers Disregard Company Policies Or Instructions From Supervisors
Just because an employer or its supervisors tell employees not to work overtime or there is a written policy forbidding employees from working overtime, does not mean that overtime wages do not need to be paid to employees who work overtime hours. Workers who are not otherwise exempt under the overtime laws and who actually work more than 40 hours in a week must be paid overtime – even if they are instructed not to work overtime.
For instance, if an employer gives an employee a list of tasks to accomplish and tries to make it clear that these tasks are expected to be accomplished during regular work hours, if the employee then works overtime to complete those tasks, the employer must pay overtime wages to the employee. This issue arose in the case of Sabol v. Apollo Group, Inc. and University of Phoenix [Sabol v Apollo Group, Inc,], Case No. 09-CV-3439, currently pending in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In that case, the plaintiffs allege that their superiors told them that if they had to work extra hours to meet the company’s performance goals, they should do so but would not receive additional compensation. The employees also were required to attend luncheon training sessions for which they were not compensated.
The Sabol case is still in litigation and has not been decided, and the allegations may prove not to be true. However, if they facts alleged are shown to be true, this could be a situation where the supervisors were essentially instructing the employees not to keep accurate records of all the time that they worked. It is unlawful not to keep accurate records. Indeed, as part of the DOL’s more vigorous enforcement of wage and hour laws, it is likely that the government will crack down on employers who do not ensure that their employees keep accurate records of their time, including all overtime hours worked.
The bottom line is this: if non-exempt workers actually work more than 40 hours, the records must reflect all hours worked and the employees must be paid for all hours worked. No policies or instructions from supervisors can override that legal requirement.
