Missouri Overtime Laws

What Are the Missouri Overtime Laws?

Common sense in regards to employment would state that no worker should have to work any longer than 40 hours a week. But in the event that a worker does have to….

Understanding the Missouri Overtime Law

It’s a typical part of the employment concept. Yes, there are times when an employee has to work overtime, for a large assortment of reasons.

Thankfully, though, the Missouri overtime law do exist to help balance the scales and make it less of a hassle for employees in terms of time management and also health management.

Here Are the Missouri Overtime Laws

As stated by the Missouri Overtime Laws, ‘overtime pay’ simply pay that’s at least 1 and ½ times the regular wage.

For instance, if an employee works at $8.00 per hour and works two hours overtime, those two hours would be anywhere up to an additional $4 each hour on top of the $8 per hour the employee receives. That’s your basic understanding of the Missouri overtime law.

That’s a pretty decent exchange for the extra hours.

One thing to keep in mind: Missouri overtime laws don’t require the additional pay over an 8-hour shift, which that 8-hour shift is generally standard. Rather, Missouri overtime laws require that overtime be initiated once the 40-hour workweek goes over.

So, in other words, if a worker ends up working 50 hours in one week, that’s 10 hours of overtime.

Something Interesting About the Missouri Overtime Law

Strangely enough, the law Missouri overtime law doesn’t allow any employee to actually deny overtime pay. To be more specific, no employee can actually waive his rights for overtime pay at all. That employee must accept the overtime pay by MO overtime laws.

In addition, it’s a violation of the MO overtime laws if an employer asks an employee to waive that right to overtime pay. However, employees would have to fill out what’s called a ‘wage complaint’ either with a union or the appropriate DA’s office in Missouri.

How the MO Overtime Laws Handle Commisions, Salary, or Piecework

It’s actually a common myth to think that overtime only applies to hourly-rate jobs.

By the MO overtime laws, an employee can actually figure overtime simply by recording weekly hours and dividing that total by the actual weekly paycheck. The result is an actual ‘hourly rate.’ Count the number of hours actually worked above 40, take half of the figured hourly rate and multiply that with the overtime hours calculated.

An employee can actually petition for those overtime hours under MO overtime laws.

This applies to commissions, salary, or piecework. In regards to commissions, an employee simply needs the actual paycheck per week plus a detailed list of hours worked for each week. The formula applies to any of those forms of payment, not just hourly rate.

Keep in mind, though, that an employer does have a right to state in a contract that there would be no overtime paid for the job. If an employee agrees to the job with the full knowledge of what is included in the contract, even if the law does state that the employee is entitled to overtime, the employee won’t receive it based on a legal signed contract.

Where Can I Find More Information on Missouri Labor Law?

Simply visit the county or state web site. You can even check any library for the labor laws and know everything you need to know about labor laws such as overtime pay.