Overtime Provsions
Employees who work more than 44 hours in a workweek are entitled to overtime pay under the ESA, which is at least 1.5 times their usual wage, unless a regulation specifies a different threshold. Nonetheless, a written averaging agreement between employers and employees may be signed, allowing the employee's hours to be averaged over a maximum of four weeks in order to calculate overtime benefits. An expiration date must be included in such agreements, and the period cannot be longer than two years for non-unionized workers. Unless both parties agree, these agreements cannot be withdrawn prior to their expiration, but they can be renewed or replaced. Under transitional regulations, pre-existing agreements under previous legislation may continue to be enforceable for a restricted period of time.
If both the employer and the employee agree, the employee may get paid time off in lieu of overtime compensation at the rate of 1.5 hours off for every hour of overtime worked. Within three months of the overtime being earned, or within a year if the employee agrees, this leave must be taken. Employers are required to pay overtime payments following the final pay regulations if an employee's employment terminates before they take the scheduled time off.
An employee will still be entitled to overtime for all work completed in a week if their job consists of a combination of partially exempt and partially non-exempt work, unless they completed the non-exempt work for less than half of the workweek. This clause guarantees that employers cannot assign mixed assignments to avoid overtime requirements unless the exempted job takes up the majority of the employee's weekly tasks.