I'm at a job where we are open 7 days a week. Another employee wanted off Sunday so I switched with her and she worked one of my weekdays. We switched the same number of hours within the same work week. Then my boss asked me if I could work on the day I now had off. So I worked another 8 hour day the same week. On my timecard I wrote that six of my additional hours were overtime since I went up to 46 hours for the week. Today I found out I will not be getting overtime for those hours since I did a shift trade. Is that legal? And doesn't that just discourage employees for helping out each other? Why does it even matter, hours are hours?

If you worked 46 hours in a single workweek, yes, you should have gotten overtime for those 6 hours.

I am a bit confused. The switch was within the same work week and the boss obviously knew about it, since you were asked to work on a day that you originally were working, but had given up to take a shift on Sunday. Being aware of the schedule, the boss knew or should have known that you would go into overtime.

Either way, the boss gets to pay you for the overtime.

Usually, switching hours within a work week is not a big deal, but we like employees to call first before swapping.

Yes, my boss did know about it, she has to approve all shift trades. I just talked to the payroll department and they said all training and shift trades count as straight time. Then when I kept explaining that my shift trade didn't affect the hours, just the day I worked and my boss asked my to pick up the extra shift she put me on hold. Then she came back and told me she was going to transfer me to someone else, someone who ended up not being in their office. But she never did make it clear if I was entitled to any overtime, I think I was just pawned off.

Training and shift trades count as hours worked for the purpose of calculating overtime and that's all that matters. Companies don't get to decide this stuff.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs23.htm

I went to http://www.dwd.state.wi.us to get some advice there. Based on what that page says also any hours over 40 need to count. We'll see where this goes now. Thanks everyone!

I went through my old pay stubs and realize I have at least $285 in unpaid overtime. Thats pretty nice, especially considering how little I make in the first place.

Well, I filed a complaint with the Dept of Workforce Development. My company responded that they are under the Railway Labor Act (an airline) and are goverened by different rules. Paperwork is still going though.

I do not know much.

From the BNA payroll library:

Employees of air carriers covered by the Railway Labor Act are exempt from the overtime-pay requirements of the FLSA, but not from its minimum wage requirements. This exemption applies only to an airline's actual carrier activities. For example, the exemption would not be available to the subsidiary of an airline that operates a computerized reservation system. In addition, an airline's airport and flight personnel will not be exempt from overtime-pay requirements if they devote more than 20 percent of their time to activities that are not related to transportation activities. Nonexempt activities include mechanical repairs, flight instruction, and sales of planes or parts.

Yes Railroads are exempt prom state,and federal overtime laws. Do you have a Union contract?
JoeC

Union? No, if I was, then I wouldn't be making almost minimum wage. Well, shoot. I thought I was getting a nice overtime check. (I guess I could still, but probably not likely.)

Union? No, if I was, then I wouldn't be making almost minimum wage. Well, shoot. I thought I was getting a nice overtime check. (I guess I could still, but probably not likely.)

Just what does your company do that it is covered by the Railway Labor Act?

I thought the act only applied to railways and air carriers and I would be really surprised to find those paying minimum wage.

Seems to me that not all jobs are automatically exempt from OT. Pilots and flight attendants, yes, but not CSRs working a desk.

I did ramp(baggage handling)/ticket counter/gate. It wasn't quite minimum wage, but $8.00 an hour isn't that far off.

O.P this is a much better format for your question. These guys have forgotten more about Railroad law than I know.Railroad law is very complicated,I have been studying it for 14 years,and still don't like answering questions about it.
http://www.nmb.gov/adrservices/odr.html
JoeC