February 28, 2008 | Posted By Diane Pfadenhauer | print this article

Pay Overtime - Even When it Violates Policy

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that an employee who works overtime must be paid for those hours even though he/she may have been prohibited from working overtime.  There are many who already operate consistent with this ruling, so this may not be something new for all of you.  In the case of Chao v. Gotham Registery, an employment agency refused to pay for overtime for temporary nurses unless the overtime was approved in advance by the agency.  Thus, when the employees actually worked overtime without approval, they were not paid for those hours.  The Court held that the company's overtime practices violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Moral of the story - if your employees work overtime without permission, pay them and then address the matter as a discipline issue.

Thanks to the Connecticut Employment Law Blog for a comprehensive summary of the case.