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overtime

  (ō'vər-tīm') pronunciation
n.
  1. Time beyond an established limit, as:
    1. Working hours in addition to those of a regular schedule.
    2. Sports. A period of playing time added after the expiration of the set time limit.
  2. Payment for additional work done outside of regular working hours.
adv.

Beyond the established time limit, especially that of the normal working day: The newspaper staff worked overtime.

tr.v., -timed, -tim·ing, -times. (ō'vər-tīm')

To exceed the desired timing for: overtime a photographic exposure.


 
 

Time worked in excess of an agreed upon time for normal working hours by an employee. Hourly or nonexempt employees must be compensated at the rate of one and one-half their normal hourly rate for overtime work beyond 40 hours in a Workweek. Working on holidays or weekends is sometimes referred to as overtime work.

 

Overtime is work done by hourly employees beyond the regular work hours per week. Any work over forty hours per week for an hourly worker is considered overtime. Overtime and overtime compensation are provided under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. It is required under the FLSA that employers pay employees working more that forty hours per week time-and-a-half, or 150 percent of the worker's salary for those hours exceeding the weekly average.

Exempt and Non-Exempt Employees

U.S. labor law distinguishes between "exempt" and "non-exempt" employees regarding overtime. Exempt employees do not have to be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours a week. According to the FLSA, members of this class of employee include workers "employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity (including any employee employed in the capacity of academic administrative personnel or teacher in elementary or secondary schools) or in the capacity of outside [salesperson]." Any worker employed in the above categories who meets Department of Labor salary and duty tests is exempt from receiving overtime pay regardless of the number of hours they work.

In some businesses, employees attend to a wide variety of tasks that may include a blend of "exempt" and "non-exempt" duties. In these instances, their overtime status is dictated by their "primary duty" to their employer. Time spent on each task is an important but not decisive factor in determining exemption status. Instead, federal regulations dictate that the most relevant factor is "the relative importance of the [exempt] duties as compared with other types of duties …and the relationship between [the employee's] salary and the wages paid other employees for the kind of nonexempt work performed." For instance, the Code of Federal Regulations notes that "in some departments, or subdivisions of an establishment, an employee has broad responsibilities similar to those of the owner or manager of the establishment, but generally spends more than 50 percent of his time in production or sales work. While engaged in such work he supervises other employees, directs the work of warehouse and deliverymen, approves advertising, orders merchandise, handles customer complaints, authorizes payment of bills, or performs other management duties as the day-to-day operations require. He will be considered to have management as his primary duty." The Code of Federal Regulations also includes tests that can be used to determine the primary duties of other "white-collar" workers, including executives, professionals, computer programmers, and administrative personnel.

Employers should regularly review their staff classifications to make certain that all workers in their employ are properly classified. "As part of that process," wrote Jeffrey Pollack in CPA Journal, "employers should develop written job descriptions that delineate the duties of each position; the employee's actual duties—not the job description—will be the controlling factor."

Deciding to Use Overtime

Businesses with seasonal peaks, with quotas and deadlines, or with the possibility of rush orders, will at some point probably not be able to meet staffing needs with the regular hours worked by employees. It is at these crisis points that overtime becomes an invaluable tool for the employer.

Most business experts, however, counsel owners and managers to use overtime sparingly if possible. The ideal use of overtime is when employees are willing to work longer hours for increased pay, and the employer needs qualified, trained individuals who will not need excessive supervision while tackling an increased work load. An employer should not, however, rely on employees working many more hours per week to routinely make up for work not accomplished during the regular work week. If this is the case—if overtime becomes essential to the performance of a business, even during regular operating scenarios—there may be other factors, such as poor compensation, morale, or inadequate staffing levels, to be considered.

One serious consideration often cited in the routine use of overtime is the effect it can have on employees' regular production. Increased work hours during one period may lead to increased absenteeism during others, due to family commitments that were put off during "crunch" periods or to illness exacerbated by stress. Indeed, Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations conducted a late 1990s study that found that employees who work at least 11 and up to 20 hours over overtime weekly showed a much greater incidence of severe conflicts in the work-family realm. These conflicts manifested themselves in higher levels of stress, alcohol and drug use, and absenteeism. In addition, some analysts believe that employee productivity during regular business hours often undergoes a major downturn after periods of extensive overtime.

All overtime should be authorized by a manager or supervisor, preferably in writing. Consideration should be given to tracking the work accomplished during overtime hours; this ensures that employees are continuing to be productive at the increased pay rate, even with the stress of longer hours and increased sales or other pressures. Tracking what work is done on overtime will also aid the owner or manager of a business to better plan for staffing needs in the future.

Alternatives to Overtime Pay

Because overtime can become very expensive, and can sometimes be draining for regular employees, some businesses have embraced alternate plans of human resource management.

Expanding workforce size. The first determination to be made is whether the amount of overtime used throughout the year is enough to justify the hiring of additional staff. This step should be very carefully considered, however, because while overtime is expensive, so are the costs (salary, payroll taxes, social security, benefits) associated with hiring additional employees.

Temps. Another alternative to overtime is to utilize temporary workers. This can be done independently by the owner or manager, or through a temporary employment agency. Depending on the task (and how much training and supervision is required), the temporary employee can save businesses significant overtime expenses. This alternative can be particularly attractive if increased staffing needs are seasonal and predictable, so that temporary employees can be hired in advance.

Stock options. Many employers have begun offering their workers stock options as compensation in lieu of actual overtime pay. In fact, studies show that as many as 10 million hourly workers in the United States had acquired stock options by the late 1990s. In 1999 employer rights to offer such stock options were codified into law with the passage and signing of the Worker Economic Opportunity Act. This act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to exclude profits from stock options or purchase plans from the calculation of non-exempt employee's overtime if various requirements are met (such as full disclosure of terms and voluntary participation). Supporters of this new law contend that it will allow employers to offer stock options as incentives to hourly workers while safeguarding employees against businesses that might try to disseminate risky stock options in place of overtime pay.

Employee Reactions to Overtime

Many employees welcome the opportunity to augment their regular salaries with overtime pay. Some businesses can effectively use overtime as a kind of voluntary bonus: if the employees are willing to put in the added hours, they will be rewarded with increased pay. Because of the strong positive feelings many employees have about the opportunity to earn overtime pay, employers should carefully weigh the pros and cons of hiring temporary help; regular employees will recognize the loss of overtime, and morale may suffer, particularly if overtime has become an integral part of the business cycle.

But the prevailing feeling among many business owners and executives is that employees are placing ever greater value on leisure/family time, and that they are willing to make some sacrifices in the realm of compensation in order to enjoy personal interests. In addition, analysts point out that families that have both parents in the work force may not value overtime as much as employees of the past. Employers should remain sensitive to employees' needs and responsibilities outside of the workplace, and should recognize that employees may not always be willing to volunteer for overtime.

Further Reading:

Boyett, Joseph H., and Henry P. Conn. Workplace 2000. New York: Penguin, 1991.

Crawford, Dan. "Option Law Frees Employers from Costly Overtime Issues." Business First-Columbus. July 7, 2000.

Employees: How to Find and Pay Them. U.S. Small Business Administration, n.a.

Pollack, Jeffrey D. "Overtime and the White-Collar Exemptions." CPA Journal. October 2000.

Walsh, Mary Williams. "As Overtime Rises, Fatigue Becomes Labor Issue." New York Times. September 17, 2000.

Weiss, Donald H. Fair, Square, and Legal: Safe Hiring, Managing & Firing Practices to Keep You & Your Company Out of Court. New York: AMACOM, 1991.

 
Architecture: overtime

The number of hours worked on a building project in excess of the number agreed upon for any single day or for any one week.


 
Word Tutor: overtime
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Beyond a certain limit.

pronunciation They were all asked to work overtime to get the project down as quickly as possible.

 
Wikipedia: overtime


Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:

  • by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society),
  • by practices of a given trade or profession,
  • by legislation,
  • by agreement between employers and workers or their representatives.

Most nations have overtime laws designed to dissuade or prevent employers from forcing their employees to work excessively long hours. These laws may take into account other considerations than the humanitarian, such as increasing the overall level of employment in the economy. One common approach to regulating overtime is to require employers to pay workers at a higher hourly rate for overtime work. Companies may choose to pay workers higher overtime pay even if not obliged to do so by law, particularly if they believe that they face a backward bending supply curve of labour.

Overtime pay rates can cause workers to work longer hours than they would at a flat hourly rate. Overtime laws, attitudes toward overtime and hours of work vary greatly from country to country and between different economic sectors.

United States federal law

In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 applies to employees in industries engaged in, or producing goods for, interstate commerce. The FLSA establishes a standard work week of 40 hours for certain kinds of workers, and mandates payment for overtime hours to those workers of one and one-half times the workers' normal rate of pay for any time worked above 40 hours. The law creates two broad categories of employees, those who are "exempt" from the regulation and those who are "non-exempt". Under the law, employers are not required to pay exempt employees overtime but must do so for non-exempt employees. Independent contractors are not considered employees and are not protected by the FLSA. Several factors determine whether a worker is an employee, who might be entitled to overtime compensation, or an independent contractor, who would not be so entitled. That an employment agreement states that a party is an independent contractor does not mean that this is necessarily so.

Classes of workers who are exempt from the regulation include certain types of administrative, professional, and executive employees. To qualify as an administrative, professional, or executive employee and therefore not be entitled to overtime, three tests must be passed based on salary basis, duties, and salary level. The tests vary between administrative, professional, and executive employees based on their different duties and salary levels. There are many other classes of workers who may be exempt including outside salespeople, certain agricultural employees, certain live-in employees, and certain transportation employees. Employees cannot waive their FLSA protections and cannot abridge them by contract.

An employer may not retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint or instituting a proceeding based on the FLSA. An employer that does retaliate would be liable under the Fair Labor Standards Act Section 216(b) for equitable relief including reinstatement, promotion, payment of lost wages, and payment of liquidated damages. Acts of retaliation include terminating employment, disrupting the workplace, threats, acts of physical violence, and constructive discharge.

Out of approximately 120 million American workers, nearly 50 million are exempt from overtime laws (U.S Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1998). In 2004, the United States was 7th out of 24 OECD countries in terms of annual working hours per worker. (See Working time for a complete listing.)

On August 23 2004, President George W. Bush and the Department of Labor proposed changes to regulations governing implementation of the law. According to one study, the changes would have had significant impact on the number of workers covered by overtime laws and have exempted several million additional workers (Economic Policy Institute). The Bush administration maintained that the practical impact on working Americans would be minimal and that the changes would help clarify an outdated regulation. In particular, the new rules would have allowed more companies to offer flextime to their workers in lieu of overtime. In September 2004, both chambers of Congress voted to block the Labor Department from putting these regulatory changes into effect.

Time off in lieu

Time off in lieu; compensatory time; or comp time refers to a type of work schedule arrangement that allows workers to take time off instead of, or in addition to, receiving overtime pay. A worker may receive overtime pay plus equal time off for each hour worked on certain agreed days, such as Bank Holidays.

In the United States, such arrangements are currently illegal for private sector workers under overtime laws, but the practice is legal in the public sector.[citation needed] See 29 U.S.C. 207(o).

For example, under current overtime laws in the U.S., non-exempt workers must receive one and one half times their normal hourly wage for every hour worked beyond 40 hours in a work week. So, if a worker clocks 48 hours in one week, then he would receive pay equivalent to 52 hours of work (40 hours + 8 hours at 1.5 times the normal hourly wage). Comp time would permit the worker in this example to forego the 12 hours of overtime pay and instead take 12 paid hours off at some future date.

Working off the clock

Some employers require employees to work "off the clock" by prohibiting them from recording time actually worked; failing to compensate them for meal periods and rest breaks; failing to pay overtime for travel from shop to work-site and back; not paying overtime for time spent working while traveling; failing to pay overtime for attendance at training, meetings and lectures; failing to compensate for arriving early to perform necessary preparations for work; not paying overtime for time it takes to suit-up or put protective gear on, time waiting to log in, on-call time, or time in security line; forcing employees to work on the weekends without clocking in; or instructing them to report fewer hours than actually worked. Such practices are generally prohibited in the United States under the overtime laws for non-exempt employees. [citation needed]

In Japan this is a widespread, almost standard work place practice and can in extreme cases lead to the Japanese Karōshi phenomenon of death-by-overwork (usually a stroke, sometimes suicide). A firm might pay 20 hours of overtime per month but to meet their superiors' deadlines and expectations, employees will have to put in many more hours which do not show up officially[1]. The practice is called "sabisu zangyo", "sabisu" meaning "service" and "zangyo" meaning "overtime", essentially "free overtime".

California Overtime Law

The state of California's overtime laws involve overlapping statutes, regulations and precedents that govern the compensation of employees in California. While the governing Federal law is the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 USC 201-219), California overtime law is codified in provisions of the California Labor Code and in Wage Orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission[2]. Because there are two sources of applicable law (federal and state), a California employer must comply with whichever standard provides greater protection to employees.

In California, based on California Labor Code 1171, only an employment relationship is required for overtime rules to apply. Under the California Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders, an "employer" is "any person ... who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, employs or exercises control over wages, hours, or working conditions of any person." Under the California Labor Code, an "employee" is "[any] person, including aliens and minors, rendering actual service in any business for an employer, whether gratuitously or for wages or pay, whether the wages or pay are measured by the standard of time, piece, task, commission, or other method of calculation, and whether the service is rendered on a commission, concessionaire, or other basis." Independent contractors are not employees covered by overtime laws, so it is important to determine if a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.

European Community (EC) Directives

Directives issued by the EC must be incorporated into law by member states.

Directives 93/104/EC (1993), 2000/34/EC (2000), which limited working hours, were consolidated into 2003/88/EC (2003). Employers and employees could agree to opt out, but this exception is to be tightened up, after the EC reported evidence that the opt-out was being abused in the UK, in a new proposal for a directive expected to be adopted in early 2006, and adopted into the law of member states within 2 years.

The Directives require:

  • maximum average working week (including overtime) of 48 hours
  • minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours in every 24
  • breaks when the working day exceeds 6 hours
  • minimum weekly rest period of 24 hours plus the 11 hours daily rest period in every 7-day period
  • minimum of 4 weeks paid annual leave
  • night work restricted to an average of 8 hours in any 24-hour period

The Directives apply to:

  • all sectors of activity, both public and private
  • Doctors in training will work a maximum week of 58 hours until 2009. From 1 August 2009 their maximum working week falls to 48 hours.

Exemptions:

  • Member States of the EC may exempt: managing executives or other persons with autonomous decision-making power; family workers; and workers officiating at religious ceremonies. These are workers whose working time is not measured and/or pre-determined or can be determined by the workers.
  • Other categories can be exempted from the directive's key provisions provided compensatory rest or appropriate protection is granted. These include employees who work a long way from home, or whose activities require a permanent presence or continuity of service or production, or who work in sectors which have peaks of activity. Examples include off-shore workers, security guards, journalists, emergency workers, agricultural workers, tour guides, etc.

The conditions attached to the worker's individual consent are tightened by the proposed new Directive: member states may allow workers to opt out from the limitation of hours worked so long as this is expressly allowed under a collective agreement (e.g., with a trades union), and if the individual worker consents. The individual's consent is subject to conditions:

  • It cannot be given at the same time as the contract of employment is signed or during any probation period
  • It has to be given in writing
  • It is valid for a maximum of one year (renewable)
  • No worker can work more than 65 hours in any week
  • Employers are obliged to keep records of the number of hours actually worked and to make those records available to the responsible authorities if required.

Sports

Main article: Overtime (sports)

Many sports have provisions for "overtime", i.e. for play beyond the regulation length of a normal game when the score is tied. Various terminology is used for different sports. For example:

  • Baseball and Softball: "Extra innings" - Both teams get equal turns at bat.
  • American Football: "Overtime" - Rules can vary between regular season and post-season. Colleges may use a "shootout" to decide the winner. The National Football League uses a single overtime period in regular season, and the game can end in a tie. In post-season, the game continues until a score is made. Either way, a single score determines the winner, in "sudden death" (or "sudden victory") fashion.
  • Soccer Football: Some "Extra Time" is allowed, and if the game is still tied, a "shootout" is held to determine the winner, if necessary (for example, to decide a championship).
  • Basketball: "Overtime" - A short overtime period is played. If the game is still tied at the end of that overtime, another complete overtime period is played, and so on, until a winner emerges.
  • Tennis, Volleyball and other "net" games: These games typically require a two-point margin of victory and a minimum number of points. If those criteria are not met, play continues until they are met, sometimes using a "tiebreaker" rule.
  • Hockey: "Overtime" - Similar to American Football. A short overtime period is played. The first team to score wins in "sudden death". In the regular season, if the game is still tied at the end of the overtime, a shootout is held. In Stanley Cup tournament play, successive overtime periods are played until a "sudden death" winner emerges.

Longest NHL overtime games

This is a list of the longest National Hockey League (NHL) overtime games.

Overtime Length
(min:sec)
Winning Team Score Losing Team Date Scorer
1. 116:30 Detroit Red Wings 1 - 0 Montreal Maroons March 24, 1936 Mud Bruneteau
2. 104:46 Toronto Maple Leafs 1 - 0 Boston Bruins April 3, 1933 Ken Doraty
3. 92:01 Philadelphia Flyers 2 - 1 Pittsburgh Penguins May 4, 2000 Keith Primeau
4. 80:48 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4 - 3 Dallas Stars April 24, 2003 Petr Sykora
5. 79:15 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 - 2 Washington Capitals April 24, 1996 Petr Nedved
6. 78:06 Vancouver Canucks 5 - 4 Dallas Stars April 11, 2007 Henrik Sedin
7. 70:18 Toronto Maple Leafs 3 - 2 Detroit Red Wings March 23, 1943 Jack McLean
8. 68:52 Montreal Canadiens 2 - 1 New York Rangers March 28, 1930 Gus Rivers
9. 68:47 New York Islanders 3 - 2 Washington Capitals April 18, 1987 Pat LaFontaine
10. 65:43 Buffalo Sabres 1 - 0 New Jersey Devils April 27, 1994 Dave Hannan
11. 61:09 Montreal Canadiens 3 - 2 Detroit Red Wings March 27, 1951 Maurice Richard
12. 60:40 New York Americans 3 - 2 New York Rangers March 27, 1938 Lorne Carr
13. 59:32 New York Rangers 4 - 3 Montreal Canadiens March 26, 1932 Fred Cook
14. 59:25 Boston Bruins 2 - 1 New York Rangers March 21, 1939 Mel Hill
15. 57:34 Dallas Stars 3 - 2 Edmonton Oilers April 27, 1999 Joe Nieuwendyk
16. 55:13 Edmonton Oilers 3 - 2 Boston Bruins May 15, 1990 Petr Klima*
17. 54:51 Dallas Stars 2 - 1 Buffalo Sabres June 19, 1999 Brett Hull**
18. 54:47 Detroit Red Wings 3 - 2 Carolina Hurricanes June 8, 2002 Igor Larionov*
19. 53:54 Philadelphia Flyers 3 - 2 Toronto Maple Leafs April 16, 2003 Mark Recchi
20. 53:50 Chicago Black Hawks 3 - 2 Montreal Canadiens April 9, 1931 Cy Wentworth*
*Stanley Cup Finals game
**Stanley Cup winning goal

References

See also


 
Translations: Translations for: Overtime

Dansk (Danish)
n. - overarbejde, overtid, overarbejdsbetaling, omkamp
adv. - på overtid
v. tr. - overbelyse (foto)

Nederlands (Dutch)
(betaling voor) overuren, verlenging (sport)

Français (French)
n. - heures supplémentaires
adv. - (faire) des heures supplémentaires, sans arrêt
v. tr. - faire des heures supplémentaires, travailler sans arrêt (l'imagination)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Überstunden
adv. - Überstunden...

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - υπερωριακή απασχόληση ή αμοιβή, υπερωρία

Italiano (Italian)
ore straordinarie

Português (Portuguese)
n. - hora extra, serão (m), prorrogação (f)

Русский (Russian)
сверх установленного времени

Español (Spanish)
n. - horas extraordinarias, prórroga
adv. - fuera del tiempo estipulado
v. tr. - hacer horas extras, prorrogar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - övertid(sarbete)

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
加班, 加班费, 加班时间, 超过时间, 加班地, 使超时

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 加班, 加班費, 加班時間, 超過時間
adv. - 加班地
v. tr. - 使超時

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 시간외노동, 초과근무수당
adv. - 규정시간을 넘어서
v. tr. - (사진노출에서)시간을 너무 잡다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 超過勤務, 超過勤務手当, 延長時間, 時間外労働
adj. - 超過勤務の, 時間外の
adv. - 時間外に

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) وقت إضافي, ساعات العمل الإضافيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שעות נוספות‬
adv. - ‮נוסף על השעות הרגילות‬
v. tr. - ‮חשף (סרט צילום) לאור זמן רב מדי‬


 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Business Dictionary. Dictionary of Business Terms. Copyright © 2000 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Small Business Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Small Business. Copyright © 2002 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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