• Most Vermont workers receive extra pay when they put in more than 40 hours in a week.at the office image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
  
  Vermont law entitles most workers to a premium pay rate when their employer requires them to work more than a certain number of hours in a week. Certain categories of workers are exempt from the overtime law, meaning their employer does not owe them overtime pay regardless of how many hours they work in a week.
  
  

Hours

• In most industries, Vermont workers receive overtime pay if they exceed 40 hours of work in a week. For any hours an employee works beyond 40, the overtime wage applies. The overtime wage must be at least one and a half times the employee's normal rate of pay. An employer can require an employee to work any number of hours in a week as long as the employer pays overtime wages when applicable.
  
  

Exemptions

• Some categories of workers do not have to receive overtime pay no matter how many hours they work in a week. These categories include employees of retail or service establishments, health care facilities, amusement parks or recreational establishments, hotels, motels and restaurants, businesses that transport people or property and state political subdivisions.
  
  

Calculation

• Employers in most industries must stick to the single workweek model of calculating overtime. An employer cannot average the hours an employee works over two or more weeks. Employees only receive overtime pay if they clock more than 40 hours without counting benefit pay. For example, if an employee received pay for 44 hours, but eight hours were holiday pay, the employer does not owe overtime wages.
  
  

Comp Time

• Vermont law does not specifically address whether employers may give compensatory time--an extra hour off for every hour of overtime--rather than overtime pay to employees who work more than 40 hours in a week. Federal guidelines suggest that employers may substitute comp time for overtime only in limited circumstances. For comp time to replace overtime, the overtime work should be "irregular or occasional" or be part of a flexible work schedule.