[millec]

I work for a hospital. For the past couple of months we have been in a hiring freeze that has also affected overtime.we are not allowed even one minute of overtime. If you do get overtime you have to get rid of it by clocking in later the next day or clocking out for lunch. I work in a department that can not be left unattended because patients are always coming in. I am scheduled to get off at 5:00, the next worker is scheduled to be here at 5:00. If she is late I am required to stay here and tend to patients until she gets here. Then I am told the next day "you had overtime yesterday, you need to clock out and take an extended lunch". We are usually paid for lunch. If a company requires you to work over can they refuse to pay the overtime?

[Fr_Chuck]

Your place of work and arrange and change your work schedule to fit its needs. They do not have to allow overtime if they do not want to.

In that of course you can say NO and see if they will fire you or not.

[Emland]

They can't ask you to clock out and remain working, but can ask you to take an extended break to prevent the overtime.

[ScottGem]

Ok, lets say your relief is a half hour late and you clock out at 5:30. The next day you take an hour and a half for lunch to compensate. You still get paid for lunch, but the extra half hour makes up for the half hour worked the previous night.

This is totally within the employer's rights to do. But if there is no way to make up the time, then they do have to pay you. However, they can also fire you, if you violate their policies.

[excon]

Hello m:

Overtime begins at anything over 40 hours for the week - not daily. Keep track. If you work more than 40 hours in any given week, you're entitled to overtime.

excon

[J_9]

UUhhggmm, I beg to differ excon about the overtime and 40 hours a week.

Some hospitals are on 12 hour shifts. Anything over 12 hours for the day can be considered overtime.

They do not always run on a 40 hour week as 3 12 hour shifts = 36 hours.

Many hosptials are on a daily rate meaning if you are scheduled for an 8 hour shift and you work 8 1/2 then you have 1/2 hour overtime, same for 12 hour shifts.

Not all hospitals, very few actually, work on 40 hour weeks. Also, it does depend on the position of the employee. If one is a secretary in the legal affairs department, she is most likely on a 40 hour a week shift.

But a nurse or tech, is usually scheduled 8 or 12 hours per day, and the 40 hour a week schedule is not in effect for these individuals.

[Fr_Chuck]

And of course some jobs depending on state law do not get or have to get overtime, Police, corrections and even some hospitals may only have to give comp time ( time off) for overtime work. I know when I worked in corrections we never got overtime pay ever, in the Federal or state system. We got a lot of comp time that we could never get to take.

And as a police officer they give overtime but only if it was over the 80 hours of our bi weekly pay period.

So not all places get overtime and are exempt from state laws for overtime.