I work in the Home Health Aide field. I work between 70 - 80 hours a week and just get paid regualr time. I asked the agency that I work for why is it that i don't get paid overtime for anything over 40 hours and she says it's because I'm contracted and therfore I only get straight pay. But she does pay me OT on certain holidays. Is this right ???

Are you an employee of a staffing agency? Is that what you mean by "contracted"? Or are you an independent contractor running your own business in the field?

It's not a staffing agency. i work for an for this lady who contracts me. She works out of her own home and has a list of elderly patients that she sends me out to. I do not have my own business.

It sounds like you should be an employee, and thereby covered under the state/federal overtime laws, as you state, for the excess of 40 hours worked in a work week. I am assuming this woman tells you where to go and when to go and what to do there; these are defining factors in determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Does your paycheck come from her (or her business) and are payroll taxes deducted?

Regardless, you can contact your state Dept. of Labor and file a claim for unpaid overtime. Holidays are never required to be paid for by law (except for time actually worked on a holiday, just like any other day), so the fact that she is paying that doesn't mean she doesn't have to pay overtime.

the check is under a the company's name. There are no taxes being deducted from the the. I have to deduct the taxes out of the check and pay them when comes tax time.

And that is what concerns me. For example, here is the federal Dept. of Labor definition of an employee:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs13.htm

And here is the IRS definition:
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html

If you were correctly classified as an independent contractor, the terms of payment are governed strictly by contract.

However, if you should have been classified as an employee, you should contact the MA Attorney General's office and file a claim for unpaid overtime. The state agency will investigate your claim and order the payment of back wages as applicable. Also mention in your claim that taxes are not being withheld from your pay. State Unemployment Bureaus, state Depts. of Taxation, and the IRS do not look kindly upon this.

If you still have questions regarding what your employment status should be after reading the referenced two documents, post back and we'll try to help further.