We are planning to have one of our employees, who typically works Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., live in one of our apartments for a reduced rent rate. In exchange for this, on the weekends he will empty the dumpsters and address any maintenance calls that may occur during the weekend. We are unsure if the hours he may work on the weekend must be paid and ultimately cause part of his regular week pay to trigger overtime rate. Can the time worked on the weekend be unpaid and treated as a trade-off for the reduced rent?
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The work done on weekends may trigger overtime requirements. If an employee is working two separate jobs at different rates for the same employer, overtime is owed if the employee works a combined total of more than 40 hours in a workweek. The overtime should be calculated based on a regular rate of pay that is the weighted average of the rates for each job.
For example, if an employee works 30 hours at $10 per hour and 20 hours at $8.00 per hour, the weighted average is $9.20 (30 hours x $10 per hours + 20 hours x $8 per hour ÷ 50 hours). The overtime pay is $46 (1/2 of $9.20 per hour x 10 hours). Alternatively, the employer and employee may agree in advance that overtime will be paid based on the rate for the type of work that was performed during the overtime hours.
The time worked on the weekend cannot be unpaid and treated as a trade-off for the reduced rent. But, an employer can satisfy minimum wage requirements by providing an employee with food, lodging, or “other facilities.” An employer must assign a fair value to such items and cannot include profit to the employer.