New York Paralegal Wins Overtime Claim
Paralegals are entitled to overtime pay (time and half for each hour over 40 per week). But a NY paralegal was not paid overtime by her law firm and she sued them to recover her pay. The law firm argued that the paralegal was not entitled to overtime because she fell into the “highly compensated employee” exception.
The highly compensated employee exception provides that anyone who earns over $100,000 a year is not entitled to overtime. (This is a broad summary – the rule is slightly more complex.) she earned over $100,000 a year, but about a third of that came through a company she owned. 
She was only paid about $66,000 a year in salary by the law firm, but her company was paid another $50,000 a year by her law firm. Her company performed filing services for her law firm and several other law firms.
Her employer argued that they paid her over $100,000 a year and therefore she was not entitled to overtime as a highly compensated employee. But the Court disagreed and held that the money paid to her company did not count because it was not compensation paid to her as an employee.
Since she earned less than $100,000 a year as an employee, she was entitled to overtime and the law firm will be forced to pay her for the upaid wages plus possible penalties and related costs.
