Q: Unpaid work/hours at a job. Is it legal

A: The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that employers typically pay their employees time and one-half their regular rate of pay for all hours worked per week in excess of 40. Your entitlement to overtime is determined on a weekly basis, not daily. Unless you are subject to an exemption, if you are paid on an hourly basis and are not receiving overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 each workweek, you likely have a claim for unpaid wages. You should immediately consult with an employment attorney.

A: It depends on whether they do that every day for the week.

Overtime is paid by the week. If you work over 40 hours in a week and you are not exempt from overtime, your employer must pay 1.5 times your regular rate of pay. If you work 10 hours a day for five days a week, you are entitled to 10 hours paid at time and a half.

It is not clear from your question whether you are actually working 12 hours but are paid only for 10. If so, you are also entitled to time and a half for the two "off the clock" hours that you worked each day, which would bring your unpaid overtime to 20 hours for that week.

If you want to discuss your pay history in detail, call 216.382.2500 and ask to speak to Stuart Torch. He is the overtime guru at Elfvin, Klingshirn, Royer & Torch and does not charge a consultation fee for brief phone calls.

A: In addition to what Ms. Dyer said below (which is 100% accurate), they may be violating minimum wage laws as well. It will depend on your hourly rate. You should contact an employment attorney to go over the details and provide the additional information needed to determine the violations and the extent of the violation. You can find my contact information on my page or at ohio-employmentlawyer.com.