Who Gets Overtime Pay in Maryland?

 Posted on November 15, 2025 in Wage & Hour Violations

You worked 50 hours a week but your paycheck only shows 40 hours of regular pay. Your boss says you are salary, so you do not get overtime — or maybe they claim your job title makes you exempt. If this sounds familiar, you are probably wondering if this is legal or if your employer is cheating you out of money you earned.

Overtime rules confuse many workers, and employers sometimes get it wrong too, whether by mistake or on purpose. But there is no excuse for violating your workers' rights in 2026. If your employer is breaking wage laws, you have the right to fight back and recover every dollar you are owed. Call our Silver Spring, MD employment law attorneys who represent employees at 301-587-6364.

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Does Maryland Have Its Own Overtime Law?

Maryland has the Maryland Wage and Hour Law, found at Maryland Code, Labor and Employment Article, Section 3-415. This state law works alongside the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA. Maryland employers must follow both state and federal overtime requirements. The Maryland Wage and Hour Law generally mirrors the federal FLSA in terms of who qualifies for overtime and what exemptions apply.

Both laws require employers to pay overtime at one and a half times your regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek. A workweek is any fixed period of seven consecutive days. It does not have to match the calendar week. Your employer can set the workweek to start on any day, but once they set it, they cannot keep changing it to avoid paying you overtime.

What Is the Basic Overtime Rule in Maryland?

The basic rule is straightforward: if you work more than 40 hours in a workweek, your employer must pay you overtime for every hour beyond that. Overtime pay is 1.5 times your regular hourly rate.

If you earn $15 per hour, your overtime rate is $22.50 per hour. If you work 45 hours in a week, you are owed regular pay for 40 hours and overtime pay for the remaining 5 hours. That difference adds up, and employers who refuse to pay it are taking money directly out of your pocket.

This rule applies to most employees, but there are exceptions for certain workers. Knowing whether you actually qualify for an exemption — not just whether your employer says you do — is what allows you to take action.

Who Is Exempt From Overtime Pay in Maryland?

The FLSA creates several categories of workers who are exempt from overtime, but just because your employer says you’re exempt does not always mean you are. Every exemption has specific legal requirements that must actually be met.

The most common are the white collar exemptions, which cover executive, administrative, and professional employees.

Executive Employees

Executive employees must have management as their primary duty. They must regularly supervise at least two full-time employees and have real authority over hiring, firing, or other employment decisions. A shift lead who runs the register is not an executive under the law, no matter what their name tag says.

Administrative Employees

Administrative employees perform office or non-manual work directly tied to management or business operations. Their primary duty must involve exercising genuine discretion and independent judgment on significant matters. A secretary or clerk who follows a set checklist and has no real decision-making power almost certainly does not qualify for this exemption.

Professional Employees

Professional employees work in jobs that require advanced knowledge in a recognized field of science or learning, and they’ve usually gone to school for a long time. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, and engineers often fall into this category. Creative professionals like certain artists and writers may also qualify under a separate test.

Does Your Job Title Determine Whether You Get Overtime?

Your job title means almost nothing for overtime purposes. Employers cannot avoid paying overtime just by calling someone a manager or giving them an important-sounding title. The law looks at what you actually do, not what your business card might say.

Many employers make the mistakes of promoting someone to assistant manager and then stop paying that person overtime. But if that assistant manager spends most of their time stocking shelves or running the register instead of actually managing, they likely still qualify for overtime.

Does Being Paid a Salary Mean You Do Not Get Overtime?

Being paid a salary instead of hourly does not automatically make you exempt from overtime. You must meet both the salary requirement and the duties test for one of the exemptions. Some employers wrongly believe that paying someone a salary means they can work them unlimited hours without overtime. This is not true. If your job duties do not meet an exemption, you are entitled to overtime even if you receive a salary.

Call a Silver Spring, MD Employment Law Attorney for Employees

If you believe your employer has been shorting you on overtime, you can do something about it. Maryland law allows employees to recover back wages, damages, and attorney's fees. Our tenacious Prince George's County employment lawyers at Melehy & Associates LLC fight hard for workers who have been taken advantage of. We offer free case evaluations, and we get great results. Call Melehy & Associates LLC at 301-587-6364 today.

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