Question: My wife's boss at a car dealership told her that they were not required to pay her overtime. Is this true?

Answer: Workers are entitled to overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times their regular rates of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek, unless they are specifically exempted by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

FLSA exempts certain sales employees of retail car dealerships from overtime pay. In addition, commissioned sales employees of many other retail or service establishments are exempt from overtime when certain conditions are met. If more than half of the employee's earnings are from commissions and the employee's average rate of pay is more than one and one-half times the minimum wage for each hour worked, the employee is exempt from the overtime provision of the FLSA.