When you accept a job, you’re not just accepting a title or a paycheck. Besides, you’re also accepting a promise of fair compensation for your time and effort. But in many workplaces, the rules around overtime, pay rates, and exempt or non-exempt status are misunderstood or ignored. Missteps by employers or employees can lead to underpaid wages or legal disputes.
That said, if you work in South Carolina, the state doesn’t have its own variation of overtime rules. Instead, SC follows federal overtime law, which means that many of the protections come from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). But that doesn’t mean everything is straightforward.
Below, we walk you through what you must know about compensation, overtime eligibility, and a lot in between to ensure you’re being treated fairly.
1. Who Qualifies for Overtime Pay
One of the first and most important distinctions in labor law is the difference between non-exempt and exempt employees. Only non-exempt employees are legally entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA, which South Carolina adheres to.
Non-exempt employees are typically hourly workers whose positions do not satisfy certain “white collar” duties tests (executive, administrative, professional) or meet minimum salary thresholds. If you’re non-exempt, then for any work beyond 40 hours in a workweek, your employer is required to pay you time-and-a-half (50% more than your regular rate) for those extra hours.
Salaried employees can still be non-exempt. What matters is:
- Your actual job duties,
- How much you’re paid, and
- Whether your salary meets the required minimum threshold.
Recent regulations require that to be exempt, you must earn at least $684 per week (or $35,568 annually) under the federal rule. If your role is labeled “manager,” “supervisor,” or “professional,” don’t assume it’s automatically exempt — those titles alone don’t guarantee it. Misclassification is a common issue, and it often leads to unpaid overtime disputes.
To better understand these classifications and how they apply to your workplace, it’s essential to stay informed about SC overtime laws. Legal professionals, such as the team at Maguire Law Firm, help employees identify whether they’re being correctly categorized and paid according to South Carolina’s wage and hour regulations. Knowing your rights early can save you from significant financial losses later.
2. How Overtime Pay Is Calculated
Getting overtime pay isn’t just about multiplying your hourly rate by 1.5 and applying it to extra hours — there’s more nuance. To ensure you receive the correct compensation, you need to understand how your regular rate is defined and what else is included.
a) Determining Your Regular Rate
Your regular rate includes base pay plus any nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions, shift differentials, or incentive pay tied to performance metrics. These extras must be factored into the regular rate before applying the 1.5 multiplier for overtime.
For example, if your base wage is $20/hour and you earn a bonus tied to attendance, your “true” hourly rate might become $21.50 when averaged out. So, the overtime is 1.5 × $21.50 for hours beyond 40.
b) Working Salaried but Non-Exempt
If you’re salaried but non-exempt, the employer divides your weekly salary by the number of hours you’re meant to cover (say, 40) to get your base hourly rate. Then overtime hours are paid at 1.5 × that rate.
Be careful — some employers try to argue your salary “covers all hours,” but legally you’re entitled to extra pay when you work beyond 40.
c) Unpaid Time, Travel, or Unauthorized Overtime
Don’t assume that because overtime wasn’t authorized in advance, it won’t be paid. If you’re non-exempt and work overtime, your employer is legally obligated to pay you for it.
However, note that certain non-working break times (e.g., 30+ minute unpaid meal breaks where you’re relieved of duty) are not considered “hours worked.” But short breaks and tasks before/after shifts often count.
3. Practical Tips to Protect Yourself & Ensure Fair Pay
Knowing the law is one thing — using it is another. Here are actionable practices employees can adopt to safeguard their rights:
- Track Everything — Use a personal log or app to record hours worked, including those before/after shift or during breaks.
- Review Pay Stubs Carefully — Look for discrepancies in hours or extra pay; investigate unexpected “flat” pay when extra hours were worked.
- Ask Questions Early — Before accepting a role, clarify whether it’s exempt and how overtime is handled.
- Communicate in Writing — If you ever dispute overtime pay, having emails or memos helps build your claim.
Conclusion to Draw!
Fair compensation isn’t just a workplace courtesy — it’s your legal right. In South Carolina, that right is governed by federal overtime law. However, it’s not automatic — you must be properly classified as non-exempt, and your employer must correctly calculate pay and adhere to recordkeeping standards.
By understanding your status, tracking your hours, and asserting your rights carefully, you protect yourself from underpayment and misclassification. And if your pay doesn’t square with the law, legal counsel experienced in SC wage and hour law can help you reclaim what’s owed.