If I Work Unapproved Overtime, Am I Still Entitled to Overtime Pay?

People call and ask this question all of the time. We always tell them that yes, your employer does have to pay you overtime even if they did not approve it.

Federal and state labor law requires that employers pay overtime, whether authorized or not, at the rate of one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.  In some states, overtime rates apply to all hours worked over 8 in a day and require double pay for each hour worked over 12 in a day.  

An employer can discipline an employee if he or she violates the employer's policy of working overtime without the required authorization. However, the wage and hour laws require that the employee be compensated for any hours he or she is "suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so." Case law holds that "suffer or permit" means work the employer knew or should have known about. Thus, an employee cannot deliberately prevent the employer from obtaining knowledge of the unauthorized overtime worked, and come back later to claim recovery. The employer must have the opportunity to obey the law.

Two Weeks Notice - Is it Mandatory?

On Reddit today, there is a post asking "why should we give two weeks notice if its ok to lay us off without warning?"

This is a great question.  Since we are an employment law firm, we talk to a lot of people who have been fired.   Most of them do not get two weeks notice, instead they are usually fired without warning.  People often think that there is a law requiring two weeks notice.  But there is no such law.  Two weeks notice is just a custom and it is rarely followed by companies.  As an employee, you are also free to quit without any notice.  You can just walk away anytime you feel like it and your employer must pay you for the time that you worked.  

Employees usually give notice when they quit because they do not want to "burn any bridges."   If you just walk off the job without notice, then you cannot expect that company to recommend you in the future.  However, today most companies will not provide a reference.  Most companies today will only confirm dates of employment and your position, they will not comment on your performance.   Companies have clammed up out of fear - they don't want to be sued for recommending a dud or saying something bad about an employee.