Texas follows the federal regulations established by the Fair Labor
Standards Act to determine who is exempt from the overtime provisions
of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
"Each employee who is exempt from the overtime provisions of the
federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must be paid once a month;
others must be paid at least twice a month. Semi-monthly pay periods
must consist as nearly as possible of an equal number of days. Within
those limitations, an employer may designate any paydays he/she
chooses. "
"Summary of Texas Payday Law" Texas Workforce Commission
http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/pdlsum.html
My review of the federal regulations uncovered the following which may
provide you with insight into the answer to your question:
"(e) Human resources managers who formulate, interpret or implement
employment policies and management consultants who study the
operations of a business and propose changes in organization generally
meet the duties requirements for the administrative exemption.
However, personnel clerks who ??screen?? applicants to obtain data
regarding their minimum qualifications and fitness for employment
generally do not meet the duties requirements for the administrative
exemption. Such personnel clerks typically will reject all applicants
who do not meet minimum standards for the particular job or for
employment by the company. The minimum standards are usually set by
the exempt human resources manager or other company officials, and the
decision to hire from the group of qualified applicants who do meet
the minimum standards is similarly made by the exempt human resources
manager or other company officials. Thus, when the interviewing and
screening functions are performed by the human resources manager or
personnel manager who has makes the hiring decision or makes
recommendations for hiring from the pool of qualified applicants, such
duties constitute exempt work, even though routine, because this work
is directly and closely related to the employee?s exempt functions."
"Regulations Part 541: Defining and Limiting the Exemptions for
Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer
Employees; Final Rule" US Department of Labor (August 23, 2004 Page 6
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/fedreg/final/Regulation_541.pdf
The employee may be eligible to recover back wages, provided that no
more than two or three years have passed, depending upon the nature of
the violation.
"Recovery of Back Wages
Listed below are methods which FLSA provides for recovering unpaid
minimum and/or overtime wages.
(1) Wage-Hour may supervise payment of back wages.
(2) The Secretary of Labor may bring suit for back wages and an equal
amount as liquidated damages.
(3) An employee may file a private suit for back pay and an equal
amount as liquidated damages, plus attorney's fees and court costs.
(4) The Secretary of Labor may obtain an injunction to restrain any
person from violating FLSA, including the unlawful withholding of
proper minimum wage and overtime pay.
An employee may not bring suit if he or she has been paid back wages
under the supervision of Wage-Hour or if the Secretary of Labor has
already filed suit to recover the wages.
A 2-year statute of limitations applies to the recovery of back pay,
except in the case of willful violation, in which case a 3-year
statute applies."
"Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)" US
Department of Labor http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/hrg.htm#16
If an employee believes he or she has been improperly denied overtime
pay, they can file a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission,
the US Department of Labor, and/or they could contact a labor law
attorney. These resources would be in the best position to evaluate
your particular circumstances and advise you as to an appropriate
course of action.
Sincerely,
Wonko
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