If I am entitled to overtime pay, how many hours do I have to work to get it?

Federal law and some state laws require employers to pay an overtime premium to their eligible employees who work more than a certain number of hours during a work period. Federal law and most states use 40 hours per week as the standard -- if you work more than 40 hours in a given week, you are entitled to overtime pay.

A few states, such as California, have a daily overtime standard, so that an employee who works more than eight hours in any given day must be paid overtime, with a few exceptions.

Under federal law, the overtime premium is 50% of the employee's usual hourly wage. This means that an employee who works overtime must be paid his or her usual hourly wage plus the 50% overtime premium -- or at least one and one-half times his or her usual hourly wage (often referred to as "time and a half") -- for each overtime hour worked.

If I work more than 40 hours in a week, can I get compensatory time instead of overtime pay?

Most workers are familiar with compensatory, or "comp" time -- the practice of offering employees time off from work rather than pay for working overtime. What comes as a shock to many is that the practice is generally illegal under federal law, at least for private employers (state and local governments can offer comp time, in certain circumstances). The reason? Comp time policies prevent employees from collecting overtime premiums -- the 50% more of an employee's usual hourly wage he or she gets when earning time and a half during overtime.

When comp time is allowed, it must be awarded at the rate of one and one-half times the overtime hours worked -- and it must be taken during the same pay period that the overtime hours were worked.

If you are an exempt employee -- that is, you are not entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA -- you may legally work out a comp time arrangement with your employer.

Some states do allow private employers to give employees comp time instead of cash. But there are complex, often conflicting laws controlling how and when it may be given. A common control, for example, is that employees must voluntarily request in writing that comp time be given instead of overtime pay -- before the extra hours are worked. Check with your state's labor department for special laws on comp time in your area.

Many employers and employees routinely violate the rules governing the use of compensatory time in place of cash overtime wages. However, such violations are risky. Employees can find themselves unable to collect money due to them if a company goes out of business or they are fired. And employers can end up owing large amounts of overtime pay to employees, if an employee complains about the practice or the company faces a labor department audit.