Could a company offer a voluntary program to their employees where for each hour of overtime worked in a pay period the employee could opt to have it put in as paid time off (ie extra vacation and sick days), in lieu of paying the overtime?

I understand that to force an employee to do this would violate the law, however as part of a voluntary program, would it be considered acceptable?

The Fair Labor Standards Act essentially requires employers to give their employees overtime pay for each hour that they work over 40 per week. Operationally, overtime pay is 1.5 times the usual hourly rate of employees. Meanwhile, for other jobs like those of firefighters and police, the rule can be a bit different. Naturally, California has its own governing laws regarding overtime pay. The federal laws on labor in California are often considered stringent relative to other states. Under federal law in California, overtime is computed a daily basis as well. If an employee works for more than 8 hours a day, the employer would have to pay him or her 1.5 times the usual hourly rate for every hour worked over 8 hours per day.

In addition, under California labor law there are differences that determine whether or not employees get overtime depending on state and federal laws. Those employees who are not entitled to overtime pay are called “exempt”. Labor records in the United States reveal that there are about 50 million exempt workers out of the 120 million workers in the country. An employee is classified as exempt if he or she falls under the following conditions:

• He or she is the one managing the company or business
• He or she is supervising at least two subordinates
• He or she is ventured the power to fire employees
• He or she is entitled to independent business decision-making
• He or she is spending at least half of her time doing the tasks mentioned above

More so, there are also some professional considerations that determine if exempt employees receive overtime pay. The five categories of professions are those that are not entitled to receive overtime pay:

• Executive
• Sale representative
• Professional
• Computer software professional
• Administrative

The labor laws in California are indeed specific. The laws layout in detail the rights and responsibilities of employees, as well as those of the employers. When it comes to wages, the California federal laws have been treating each party fairly. If an employee has declined to render overtime when most needed, the employer can impose a sanction. However, if the employees would like to request for a wage increase, the employee cannot fire the employees and must addressed their needs according to the result of formal bargaining between the two parties. Both parties should be aware that they are working for the betterment of the business or company.
James Harrison; the Author of “Things You Should Know About California Overtime Pay” is a California SEO Expert and California Employment Law official working in San Diego, California.