Longer hours can be required

By Kenneth Bredemeier
Washington Post

Lots of workers gladly take on overtime work. They may want the extra pay or feel obligated to help the company finish a project. But can a company require an employee to work overtime?

Diane Seltzer, a Washington attorney who has represented workers and employers, said there is nothing in the Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets wage regulations, that prohibits employers from requiring employees to work overtime or even limits the number of working hours beyond the normal 40 a week.

"Mandatory overtime can be and often is a job requirement," Seltzer said.

Nonetheless, she added that at some workplaces, a union might negotiate a limit on the number of overtime hours required in a seven-day period.

Moreover, she said the company's overtime demands could "interfere with (some employees') religious observances and the workers could ask for a religious accommodation" that would allow them to attend services.

Seltzer said that although companies can require overtime work, they must pay time and a half for any hours beyond 40 in a week, unless the employee is exempt from the overtime pay rules.

Exempt employees are executives, professionals and administrators, who generally have managerial duties of one sort or another.