In the 21st century it is far from unusual for a worker to work a 50 or 60 hours work week.

Working more hours generally means earning more wages; however, what if you are not interested in working more than a 40 hour week?

Can you be required to work overtime in Florida?

The short answer to that questions is “probably”.

At the federal level, the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, governs many aspects of the employer-employee relationship.

Under the FLSA an employer can usually require an employee to work as many hours as the employer wishes.

Therefore, under most circumstances if your employer requires you to work 60 hours a week that required is legal. You may, however, be entitled to overtime pay for the hours you work each week over 40.

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There are some exceptions to the general rule that your employer can require you to work as many overtime hours as the employer wishes.

The biggest caveat to the general rule is that the employer cannot put employees at risk of injury and/or violation of safety standards through forced overtime.

In some industries, for example, overtime is more heavily regulated. Nurses and over-the-road truck drivers, for instance, must adhere to more specific guidelines when it comes to working overtime because they can put themselves, and others, at risk if they are exhausted from working too many hours.

If you belong to a union, or you are working under an employment contract with your employer, mandatory overtime may also be restricted under the terms of your contract.

Check with your union representative and/or with a Florida employment law attorney if you are unclear about how overtime is handled in your union or employment contract.

Some states have also implemented restrictions on mandatory overtime; however, Florida is not one of those states. Florida law defers to the FLSA on overtime standards and pay requirements.

Although the State of Florida allows forced overtime, you may be entitled to overtime pay, or “time and a half”, for the hours you work each week in excess of 40.

Most hourly workers are entitled to overtime pay at the rate of 1.5 times (time and a half) your regular salary.

Also, creating scheduling of your work week to avoid paying overtime is prohibited under the FLSA.

If you have additional questions or concerns about how an overtime attorney in Florida can help you recover unpaid wages, tell us more about what happened.  I review every employee claim personally, and if we can help you, we are going to help you, request to schedule a review of your employment situation here.