South Carolina Overtime Laws

A brief guide to South Carolina overtime laws

Rather than establishing its own guidelines regarding payment, the state of South Carolina follows the provisions outlined in the federal Fair Labor and Standards Act. These rules set a minimum wage for hourly compensation of $7.25 an hour. South Carolina overtime law mandates that employers must pay any employee who works in excess of 40 hours a week to pay time-and-a-half for each subsequent hour worked. If you are making minimum wage, this means you are entitled to $10.88 an hour for every hour worked past 40 hours a week. Employers who fail to compensate you in this fashion are in violation of South Carolina overtime laws.

Some dishonest employers may attempt to evade paying this compensation by claiming that you are a salaried employee. To get around South Carolina overtime law, they will pay you a fixed sum that is the same as you would receive if paid by the hour. They will then claim that since you are a salaried employee, you are not entitled to overtime compensation. However, South Carolina overtime laws do not allow employers to make this distinction at their convenience.

While many salaried workers indeed do not qualify for overtime payments, this is unlikely to be the case if you are making minimum wage. South Carolina overtime law does not apply to people who work at primarily mental or administrative tasks that require a high degree of specialized knowledge. However, someone who is paid a low hourly wage does not qualify for salaried employee status. Any employer who attempts to convince you otherwise may be violating South Carolina overtime laws.

It is true that some employees do not qualify for overtime compensation. South Carolina overtime law does not apply to many members of the workforce. Some workers who may not be eligible for overtime compensation include:

• Salespeople who work on a commission basis

• People who work in the transportation industry, such as airline officials or taxi drivers, are often not covered by South Carolina overtime laws. If you are compensated at a fixed rate for every trip made, you are probably not entitled to overtime.

• Farm laborers

• People who have not gotten past eighth grade or completed high school may be required to attend remedial education courses. While employers must provide compensation for such training, South Carolina overtime laws do not require them to pay extra,

If you feel that your rights as an employee have been violated, you should contact the Hours and Wages division of the United States Department of Labor. This government agency is responsible for making sure every aspect of South Carolina overtime law is being properly implemented by employers. After investigating your claims, they may be able to compel employers to pay unpaid or underpaid wages.

Should this government agency decide there is no merit to your claim of a violation of South Carolina overtime law, you may decide to take private legal action. Civil litigation may be successful in obtaining the compensation you have been improperly denied.