The basic rule is simple: If you earn an hourly wage and you work more than 40 hours in a week, you are probably entitled to “time and a half” overtime pay. But that widely known formula can give way to complexity, as it did in Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt, a case about whether plaintiff Michael Hewitt is owed overtime pay by his former employer. After parsing detailed regulatory language, a six-justice majority sided with Hewitt; the opinion, authored by Justice Elena Kagan, ultimately turns on the intuitive conclusion that someone who earns a day-rate is not paid on a “salary basis.” READ MORE