I work for a furniture retailer in Massachusetts.I work in the warehouse preparing the furniture for deliveries.The store offers deliveries 7 days a week and Sunday is my first day of the work week,thursday being my last.Those of us that work the sundays have volunteered for the day(at which our pay-rate is one and one-half of our regular hourly rate).We are payed on a bi-weekly rate.

Now my question is the pay given to us on sunday will show up on our statements as 16 hours of overtime(8 hours for each sunday in the pay period)and 64 regular hours(32 regular hours for the remaining 4 days of each week),if I(we) work a non-scheduled day after working my 8 hours on sunday and 32 hours monday-thursday,they pay us straight time up until we make 40 hours regular!!When questioned about why that is they say they pay us overtime at the beginning of the week.That the sundays worked are overtime and not considered part of our 40 hours for the week.

We are considered full time employees and have benefits,vacation,sick time and also an insurance plan.They tell us that the 8 hours per sunday is only used to figure in our full time status(which allows us the benefits,but not to be figured in as part of 40 regular hours).

I believe this has come about due to the overtime laws being changed to over 40 hours a week than 8 hours a day for overtime pay.
Is the legal or are they exploiting a loophole in the federal/Massachusetts laws??

One other quick question.If sunday pay is at time and one-half rate and working a holiday is at time and one-half rate is there any different compensation if a legal holiday falls on a sunday and time is worked that day?I understand that holiday and sunday work days are suppose to be voluntary but we are made to work these days as they would be are regular scheduled days.In other words,because the majority of federal holidays fall/observed on a monday we are made to work,there is no volunteering for the day.


Thank you for your time and response

Based on your company's rationale that the Sunday hours are overtime, they are correct in paying you straight time up until you hit 40 regular hours. That is because overtime is to be paid for hours worked in excess of 40 for the workweek. However, please note that if you only work 40 hours for the entire week--8 hours on Sunday and 32 on Monday-Thursday--then technically, you are not entitled to overtime pay for the hours you worked on Sunday because these hours are not in excess of 40.

Regarding your question on holiday pay, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment of overtime for weekends or holidays. These benefits are a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee. Therefore, your company policy determines the amount of holiday pay, if any, that may be due when a legal holiday falls on a Sunday.

Massachusetts retailers law states that any employee that works a sunday shall be paid 1 and 1.5 time their normal hourly rate.So yes time and one half is due to me for working sunday.


The Massachusetts Blue Laws
(Revised May 3, 2000)

Restrictions on business openings on Sundays and holidays, the Massachusetts Blue Laws, are administered by the Director of the State's Departments of Labor and Workforce Development. Violations of the Blue Laws are enforced by the Attorney General's Division of Fair Labor and Business Practices. This guide is designed to help both employees and employers understand the law in this area.








--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUNDAYS
A. RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS

Due to a change in the laws that was made in 1994, retailers are no longer restricted to opening at 12:00 noon and may open at any time on Sundays without the need for approval by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and without the need for a local police permit. M.G.L. ch. 136, § 16.

Chapter 136, section 6 contains exemptions from Blue Law restrictions for certain retail and non-retail businesses (a list of the exemptions is attached to this guide). If a business falls within one of these exemptions, the following restrictions do not apply. Otherwise, any retail establishment which operates on Sundays is subject to the following two restrictions:

1. Time and One-Half Pay
Retailers that employ more than seven (7) persons are required to compensate employees who work on Sundays, except for exempt administrative and professional employees, at a rate of pay not less than one and one-half times their regular rate.

2. Voluntariness of Employment
Regardless of the number of employees, retailers cannot require employees to work on Sunday, and an employee's refusal to work may not be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge, reduction in hours, or any other penalty.




Thank you for your time.

You are absolutely correct. I was only considering federal law when making the statement about payment of overtime on Sunday. When there is a state statute that is more strict than federal law, the stricter law is enforced as in the case of Massachusetts.

The answer to your original question remains the same.

What is the answer though?If sunday hours are time and one half,I think its a loophole how they state the hours on the check.Sunday is not overtime!Sunday is Sunday hours,should be totally seperate from over time and counted as part of the 40 regular hours.They count it as part of the 40 reg so that we can get benefits,then they don't count them as part of time worked.

I think they are just exploiting a loophole.

Thanks for your help.

The distinction between hours worked and hours/money paid is very important in wage and hour law. As stated earlier, federal law states that overtime must be paid for hours worked over 40 in a stated workweek. In the case described, it is my understanding that there was no more than 40 hours worked during the week. On that basis, no overtime is required.

Massachusetts requires that certain employers pay at the rate of time and one half for Sunday hours. On that basis, anyone working on Sunday receives the additional pay. The additional pay is not counted as hours (regular, additional hours or overtime). It is to compensate for working on a Sunday. You worked 8 hours though you received pay for 12 hours.

Your employer is counting your hours worked (not paid) in order to determine eligibility for the benefit plans, as is typical with many benefit programs.

So, on the basis of this reasoning, your employer is following the law as it is intended. However, keep in mind that the distinction between hours worked and hours paid do not always benefit the employer. On the plus side for employees, if you were to work more than 40 hours during the workweek and, therefore, you become eligible for overtime, the additional pay you received for working on Sunday must be included as a part of your wages in order to calculate your overtime rate.