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What Are an Employer's Obligations Regarding Pay Earned During Holiday Weeks?

Last updated Sunday, November 7, 2010 01:00 ET

With the holiday season approaching, many employers and employees may be wondering what an employer's obligations are regarding compensation.

11/07/2010 / SubmitMyPR /

With the holiday season approaching, many employers and employees may be wondering what an employer’s obligations are regarding compensation earned during holiday weeks. 

The Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law that regulates minimum pay standards and overtime compensation, applies to workers who are not specifically exempt from its coverage.  Importantly, the FLSA generally obligates employers to pay employees only for time actually worked.  So, if an employee who is covered by the FLSA does not work on Thanksgiving Day, the employer is not required to pay the employee for that day.  Further, the FLSA does not require employers to pay employees a premium for working on holidays, although some employers may voluntarily do so.

Questions concerning overtime pay may also arise during this time.  An employee may believe that he is entitled to overtime compensation if he worked on a day, such as Saturday, that he does not normally work to “make up” for missing work on a holiday.  But, unless the employee actually works more than forty hours in the workweek, the employee is not entitled to overtime compensation.

To speak to a Dallas, Texas labor and employment law attorney with experience handling FLSA matters, contact the labor and employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP at [email protected]