Holiday Overtime Laws in the State of Idaho
- Idaho law does not guarantee extra pay for employees who work during holidays.construction worker image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
Idaho labor law favors employers, rather than employees, regarding whether overtime pay applies for holidays. While employees must receive overtime pay after working a certain number of weekly hours, they have no legal right to receive overtime pay simply for working on a holiday. Contracts, whether for an individual or as part of a labor union, are employees' best bet for securing extra pay on holidays. - Idaho has no laws that guarantee employees extra pay for working during holidays--nor, for that matter, does any law require Idaho employers to give employees the day off during a holiday, with or without pay. An employer can require an employee to work any holiday, as long as the employer pays the employee's regular, stipulated wages.
- Idaho adheres to a federal law, the Fair Labor Standards Act, that mandates overtime pay for most employees that work more than 40 hours a week. For any hours that go beyond this, employees must receive a rate of pay that is at least 1 1/2 times their regular wage. If working on a holiday causes an employee to exceed the 40-hour threshold, the employee must receive overtime pay for those hours.
- If an employer establishes a policy of giving employees extra pay for working holidays, the employer must adhere to that policy. The employer may change the policy at will but must also notify employees in advance of any change.
Employees may contact the Idaho Department of Labor to investigate employers who do not fairly apply established company policies. As a matter of contract law, an employer may never unilaterally change the terms of collective-bargaining agreements or other contracts.
