Overtime Pay for Salaried Employees

Salary Does Not Automatically Mean No Overtime

A paycheck that arrives on the same day every week or month can give the illusion of stability. Many workers assume that being on salary means no overtime rights, that a fixed paycheck covers every extra hour, every late night, every weekend worked. Employers encourage that belief, because it benefits them when workers don’t question it.

But salary and exemption are not the same thing. Being salaried doesn’t automatically mean you lose the right to overtime. The law looks at what you do, not just how you’re paid. Countless employees discover, often years later, that they should have received overtime all along. At Horn Wright, LLP, our employment law attorneys step in to recover that lost pay and hold employers accountable for misleading workers about their rights.

New York Rules for Salaried Workers

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the federal baseline for who qualifies as exempt from overtime, focusing on both job duties and salary thresholds. But New York’s rules go further. The state sets higher salary minimums for exemption than federal law, which means a worker may be exempt under the FLSA but still entitled to overtime under New York law.

For example, in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, the salary threshold is higher than in other parts of the state. Salaried employees who fall below that threshold are non-exempt and must be paid overtime for hours beyond 40 in a week. Employers who fail to track and pay correctly violate both federal and state law.

This is where misclassification and overtime pay violations often arise. Employers assume that a salary automatically means exemption. They hand out managerial titles that sound impressive but don’t match actual duties. In truth, a “manager” spending 90% of their time stocking shelves or ringing up customers is not exempt under the law.

When Employers Misclassify Salaried Employees

Misclassification is one of the most common overtime scams. Employers put workers on salary, label them exempt, and quietly pocket the savings of unpaid overtime. The problem isn’t limited to low-level staff. Mid-level supervisors, assistant managers, and even technical professionals are often misclassified.

New York’s Labor Law (NYLL) § 142-2.2 requires overtime pay for non-exempt salaried employees. Duties tests under both the FLSA and NYLL are strict. If the actual work doesn’t involve independent decision-making or advanced knowledge, exemption doesn’t apply. Employers who ignore this open themselves up to years of liability.

This is where identifying overtime violations becomes critical. Workers who notice long hours without overtime, vague job descriptions, or sudden reclassification as “salaried exempt” should treat those as red flags. Often, they’re signs of systemic misclassification.

Evidence That Proves Overtime Is Still Owed

Proving overtime for salaried employees requires piecing together both official records and day-to-day reality. The evidence usually includes:

• Schedules and timesheets. Even salaried workers often have schedules that reveal how many hours they worked.
• Pay records. Paychecks showing fixed amounts despite fluctuating hours highlight unpaid overtime.
• Digital trails. Emails, log-in data, or security records confirm long hours and weekend work.
• Witness testimony. Co-workers confirming expectations of long unpaid hours bolster claims.

The FLSA and NYLL both place recordkeeping obligations on employers. If those records don’t exist, courts let employees use testimony and estimates instead. This shifts the burden onto the employer and establishes employer liability for overtime violations. Once evidence shows the hours worked, employers are responsible for paying the overtime they ignored.

In Maine, Employers Have More Flexibility on Salaried Worker Exemptions Than in New York

Location can dramatically change outcomes. Maine gives employers more flexibility when it comes to classifying salaried workers as exempt. Courts there are often more deferential to employer claims of exemption, making it harder for workers to challenge misclassification.

New York’s standards, by contrast, are stricter and more employee-friendly. Higher salary thresholds and rigorous duties tests reduce the chance of abuse. Workers in New York are therefore better positioned to claim unpaid wages, while their counterparts in Maine may struggle to overcome broader employer discretion. For salaried employees, the difference between states can determine whether years of unpaid overtime are recoverable.

Industries Where Salaried Workers Face the Most Violations

Certain industries have built overtime abuse into their culture. Salaried employees in these fields should be especially cautious:

• Retail. Assistant managers are often misclassified, even though most of their time is spent on sales-floor tasks.
• Hospitality. Hotel supervisors work grueling hours but rarely meet the criteria for exemption.
• Healthcare. Salaried staff without advanced degrees are sometimes misclassified as “professional” exempt.
• Technology. Workers in IT and creative roles are frequently treated as exempt without meeting the law’s definitions.

These industries rely heavily on salaried misclassification because workers are eager to advance or afraid to question authority. But when attorneys uncover these patterns, they often lead to group claims. This is where filing an overtime pay claim becomes powerful. One employee’s courage to file can open the door for dozens of co-workers to recover stolen wages.

Remedies for Salaried Employees Denied Overtime

When salaried employees prove they were misclassified, the remedies are substantial:

• Back pay. Courts award unpaid overtime going back several years, often tripling the expected recovery when multiple violations are found.
• Liquidated damages. Both the FLSA and NYLL allow employees to recover an additional amount equal to the unpaid wages.
• Attorneys’ fees. Employers may be required to cover legal costs, so employees don’t bear the burden of pursuing justice.

These remedies show the high stakes of misclassification. Employers who cut corners to avoid overtime pay end up paying far more in the long run. This is why calculating unpaid overtime damages is so crucial. Lawyers reconstruct schedules, analyze duties, and present the true cost of every extra hour. The results often shock employees who underestimated how much money was stolen from them.

Horn Wright, LLP, Fights for Salaried Worker Overtime Rights

A salary should never be used as a weapon to deny workers fair pay. Being paid on a fixed schedule doesn’t erase your right to overtime when the law says you deserve it. At Horn Wright, LLP, we challenge the false assumptions that keep salaried employees from claiming what’s theirs.

Our employment law attorneys know how to dismantle misclassification, uncover long-forgotten records, and prove the hours you worked. We pursue every available remedy, back wages, penalties, and fees, to make sure the paycheck you trusted truly reflects your labor.

If you’re ready to work with a nationally recognized firm that protects salaried employees from overtime abuse, Horn Wright, LLP, will fight to recover the wages you’ve earned.