Overtime complaints and related lawsuit awards have skyrocketed in recent years. If you want to avoid these costly problems, you must know the rules and comply with them.

Both federal and state wage and hour laws limit the number of hours a staffer can work without receiving overtime pay. Non-exempt employees must generally be paid time and a half if they work more than 40 hours within a fixed recurring seven-day week, although some states (including California) calculate overtime on a daily basis.

Many doctors mistakenly think that if they pay their staffers a salary, they’re automatically exempt from paying them overtime. That’s not the case. Rather, they must pass three tests in order to be considered exempt from overtime.