Indiana Wage and Overtime Law

This page is devoted to Indiana* law. For information on Federal law or other states see our overtime page.

The Indiana Overtime law (called the Indiana Minimum Wage Law) mirrors the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in many ways. Just like the FLSA, the Indiana overtime law requires that non-exempt employees receive overtime pay equal to 1.5 x their regular hourly pay for any hours worked over 40 in a week (overtime). For more specifics about the Federal Law, please see our overtime and wages page.

The Indiana law does have some significant differences from the Federal law, however. Under the Indiana law, a person may only be entitled to overtime pay if the employer has more than 40 employees. (The Federal Law simply requires that the employer have a gross income of $500,000 irrespective of the number of employees.)

As discussed on our overtime page many employers try to avoid paying overtime by simply paying their employees a salary, even though the employees are working more than 40 hours in a week. In such cases, the employees are still entitled to overtime pay if they are non-exempt. The overtime wages are calculated by dividing the weekly salary by 40 (or a bi-monthly salary by 80) to get the regular hourly rate and then multiplying that by 1.5 to get the overtime rate.

Another difference between the Indiana law and Federal Law is the statute of limitations. The Indiana overtime law provides that overtime pay that has not been paid can still be collected up to three years from the date the pay was earned, while the Federal Overtime law is two years and up to three years if the employer was consciously and intentionally violating the overtime law.

Like the Federal Law, the Indiana overtime law also provides that where the employer’s failure to pay overtime is intentional, the employer can be required to pay an additional amount of money equal to the amount owed. This is known as liquidated damages and its intention is punish the employer.

Exemptions

The Indiana overtime law has the same major exemptions as the Federal overtime law. (An exempt employee is one who is not entitled to overtime pay because of what he does. See our overtime page for more information on Exempt v. Non-Exempt Employees.) Other exempt employees in Indiana include: people under age 16, commission employees, religious employees, student nurses, medical interns, movie theater employees, and some independent contractors among others.

Filing Both Indiana and Federal Law Claims

A person can file claims under both the Indiana overtime law and the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act at the same time. The case would likely proceed in Federal Court in Hammond, South Bend, Ft. Wayne, or Lafayette, Indiana if the person works in Northern Indiana, and in Indianapolis, New Albany, Terre Haute, or Evansville, Indiana if the person works in Southern Indiana. The Federal Court will simply enforce both laws including their differences. For this reason, finding an Indiana overtime lawyer or an Indianapolis overtime lawyer is not required to be able to pursue your unpaid overtime claim.

Retaliation

It is also illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee for asking for his overtime pay, for contacting an attorney, or even filing a claim. If you complain of not receiving overtime pay and your employer fires you, you have a claim for retaliation. This is a separate violation of the law and you should definitely consult an employment lawyer.

If you have been paid a salary when you should not be, if you have not been paid overtime, or have only been paid your regular wage for overtime hours, you may be entitled to more money. The overtime and wage laws are very complex, but our Indiana overtime lawyers understand them. We regularly handle cases in Indiana and look forward to helping you. Whether you are near Gary or Hammond, in South Bend or Ft. Wayne, in Indianapolis or even in Evansville, give us a call.

As your Indiana overtime lawyer we represent clients in a variety of areas including Age Discrimination, Housing Discrimination and Family Medical Leave.