Can I receive overtime for the administrative duties I perform?

 

A: Yes.

As long as the administrative duties you are performing more than 50% of the time are not directly related to the general operation of a company or educational training at an instruction, you are entitled to overtime.

Our Texas administrative overtime lawyers at Kennedy Hodges are frequently approached by administrative assistants who are trying to figure out if they are entitled to overtime based on the daily work that they do.

These assistants often are told that they are exempt from overtime pay because of the Fair Labor Standards Act's Administrative Exemption. The reason they have questions is because for the most part, they fit the exemption qualifications - they are making more than $455 per week and they have to exercise independent discretion to do their jobs. But the tricky part is the third qualification - whether or not the assistant's daily duties are directly related to operations more than 50% of the time.

Many times an assistant's main duties do not fit this last qualification, as he or she does not work on taxes, in marketing, on the budget, or towards safety and health for enough hours in the week to add up to 50%. Instead, the individual's roles call for setting appointments, editing documents, dictation, answering phone calls, or greeting clients.

If you are an administrative assistant trying to earn overtime for the hard work you put in, the best thing you can do for yourself and your paycheck is to run your situation by an experienced overtime lawyer. The attorneys at Kennedy Hodges wrote a book on the subject of overtime entitled Ten Biggest Mistakes that Can Hurt Your Wage and Overtime Claim. Order it today by calling 888.449.2068, or fill out our online form to set up your free consultation.