overtime & vacation pay

[newwife03]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX**************...I worked for a company that started off paying me overtime and then it was like they stopped paying it and paid me straight time. Our paydays were 1st & 15th of each month. Some pay periods had OT and some just had straight time. My question is can they bounce back & forth on the OT pay? I no longer work for that company and I still had vacation left......do they have to pay me for that or do I loose it?

 

[newwife03]

sorry**************Ii forgot to put I was an hourly paid employee.

 

[pattytx]

The key to determining whether overtime is due is the workweek, which is defined by the employer and starts on a day/time certain. The problem with nonexempt employees being paid on a semi-monthly basis is that there is almost never a semi-monthly pay period that coincides exactly with two full work weeks. You would have had to know when the workweek started at that employer. It's like dealing a deck of cards; deal the hours worked into each 24-hour period. If, in a workweek, the hours worked exceed 40, then overtime is due. However, the fact that workweeks can often span two semi-monthly pay periods means that the overtime can't be determined until the workweek is completed, which often has the effect of delaying overtime until the following pay period.

Regarding vacation, Texas law is that the employer must pay it out at termination only if they have a policy that says they will.

 

[cbg]

I can address the vacation part of the question. No, in Texas they do not have to pay out unused vacation unless a binding policy or contract says otherwise