New State Overtime Laws in Effect

With the passage of Assembly Bill 44, certain overtime exemptions were removed effective July 1, 2005. In the past, employees who made more than one and one-half times minimum wage—currently $7.725 per hour—were exempt from Nevada's overtime law. Now, that exemption has been removed. Employees who make over one and one-half times minimum wage and work over 40 hours per week are eligible for overtime.

Employers should follow these general guidelines:

·         Employees who make $7.725 or less should be paid overtime, if they work over 8 hours in a workday (a 10-hour shift, for example) or 40 hours in a week (8 hours a day, 6 days a week, for example.)

·         Employees who make over $7.725 per hour are eligible for overtime, if they work in excess of 40 hours per week, but these employees are not eligible for the daily overtime.

·         Employees paid prevailing wage on public works projects, however, qualify for both the weekly and daily overtime.

·         The new overtime rules only apply to time earned as of July 1, 2005, and retroactive claims are not applicable.

For further information or assistance, please call the Office of the Labor Commissioner:

Las Vegas, (702) 486-2650 or Carson City, (775) 687-4850, or log on to www.laborcommissioner.com.