Fairly Calculating OT in VA

[rickardr]

Virginia
Sorry about not having a question! My internet connection timed out.

My question is this- and it is entirely subjective based on what readers think is fair.
My ex husband moved to NY and left the children with me. We are recalculating child support but he was not honest about what he made. He is an hourly welder working for a company that advertises bonus pay, incentive pay, and generous voluntary overtime as incentive to recruit to Buffalo.

His base pay equals out to 47,000 per year. His actual gross pay, calculated for the three months of pay info provided by his employer upon subpoena, showed he made about (at the least) 84,000 per year with OT. It has been 2 months since that information, so in all, he has worked for this company for 5 months.

My question is, what is fair? I can't expect him to work 15 hours of OT every week- but if that is his choice, should he be required to maintain that? If I use the modest average of 84,000 per year, his child support will be much higher than if we used the 47,000. Don't get me wrong- I am livid he understated his salary by 30,000- but, what would other parents out there do if they were in my shoes?
What would the courts say about varied OT? (some weeks it is 15 hours, others it is 30- he made roughly 8,600 per month in October, November, and December.

Thanks,
R

 

[Gracie3787]

What is your question?

 

[FlyingRon]

If the employee is non-exempt, you must pay time and a half for every hour worked over 40 in a week.
If the employee is exempt, you don't have to pay overtime at all.
That's the law. What is fair is entirely subjective.

 

[rickardr]

Oops!

What is your question?

Please see edited post- my internet timed out earlier without my question.

 

[Zigner]

Virginia
Sorry about not having a question! My internet connection timed out.

My question is this- and it is entirely subjective based on what readers think is fair.
My ex husband moved to NY and left the children with me. We are recalculating child support but he was not honest about what he made. He is an hourly welder working for a company that advertises bonus pay, incentive pay, and generous voluntary overtime as incentive to recruit to Buffalo.

His base pay equals out to 47,000 per year. His actual gross pay, calculated for the three months of pay info provided by his employer upon subpoena, showed he made about (at the least) 84,000 per year with OT. It has been 2 months since that information, so in all, he has worked for this company for 5 months.

My question is, what is fair? I can't expect him to work 15 hours of OT every week- but if that is his choice, should he be required to maintain that? If I use the modest average of 84,000 per year, his child support will be much higher than if we used the 47,000. Don't get me wrong- I am livid he understated his salary by 30,000- but, what would other parents out there do if they were in my shoes?
What would the courts say about varied OT? (some weeks it is 15 hours, others it is 30- he made roughly 8,600 per month in October, November, and December.

Thanks,
R

Yours is not a legal question. Just keep in mind that OT is never guaranteed.

 

[FlyingRon]

Yours is not a legal question. Just keep in mind that OT is never guaranteed.

Further, there's not enough information here to answer. If your husband is an exempt employee (in a supervisory or certain technical or professional positions), it is entirely at the discretion of his employer as to whether to pay him one penny over his base salary for additonal work done.

As Zig points out, if he was a non-exempt employee and entitled to overtime by law, there's no guarantee that he will be allowed to work additioanl hours and hence earn additional pay in the future just because he did so in the past.