I'm surprised that the government hasn't started cracking down on unpaid overtime. It not only violates workers' rights, but also means less tax revenue. In other countries it's required by law to pay double for any overtime.
If you are paid a salary (you make $X / week), there is no overtime (or unpaid overtime). You get the same amount each week no matter how much or how little you work or how much or how little you accomplish. If you make at least $684 / week and are an exempt employee paid on a salary basis, there is no overtime.
To get to the "you get overtime for working more than 40h/week" people need to switch from being salaried to being hourly (and then they would be paid for all hours worked - note that exempt employees don't get a 1.5x overtime increase).
However, I will note that a lot of people start saying "don't track me", complaints of time sheets, and there's a fair amount of boasting of only working 20h/week.
You want to get to "no unpaid overtime" - the path there is through working hourly rather than salary and only getting paid for 20h if you only work 20h.
> However, Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees. Section 13(a)(1) and Section 13(a)(17) also exempt certain computer employees. To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684* per week.
> Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), any employee that’s categorized as an exempt employee is ineligible for overtime pay—even when they put in more than 40 hours of work in a week. Because many salaried positions are categorized as exempt, they would fall under the overtime exemption umbrella—and, as such, not be entitled to overtime pay.
