Texas workers are owed $13.8 billion in unpaid overtime, according to study
Unsplash / Joshua Olsen
Increased murkiness around the idea of “free time” could contribute to the problem.
Hardworking Texans aren’t getting compensated for their labor, according to a new study. Beyond that, they’re lagging other states in being able to collect what they owe on their paychecks.
Last year, Texas workers on average clocked 2.6 hours per week of unpaid overtime, according to a wage analysis by the law firm Bisnar Chase. The national average was 2.1 hours of unpaid overtime.
When the number of exempt workers is fractured into the equation, then recalculated as an annual rate, the collective amount owed to Texas workers is a staggering $13.9 billion, the data crunching shows.
That shorting of paychecks comes despite state and federal laws ensuring overtime pay. Those positions earning more than $35,000 per year are often “misclassified” into being exempt from overtime, according to Bisnar Chase.
Further, increased murkiness around the idea of “free time” could contribute to the problem, Bisnar Chase managing partner Brian Chase said.
“Free time is now something that is expected to be given up to one’s employer,” Chase said in an emailed statement. “The recent trend of working from home due to the pandemic has exacerbated situation, as unpaid overtime has become a widespread and accepted norm.”
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