Under Alaska law, employers must pay employees at a rate of one and one-half the employee’s straight-time wage for working more than eight hours per day or 40 straight-time hours per week. Employers cannot give an employee “comp time” instead of overtime pay. Exempt employees  include:

• An employee of an employer who has less than four employees
• Employees in agricultural or horticultural commodities, including those who handle, pack, store, pasteurize, dry, or prepare products in their raw or natural state; those who are involved in the canning of such products; or those who make cheese, butter, or other dairy products
• Employees of small mining operations (less than 13 employees), as long as the individual is not employed more than 12 hours a day or 56 hours a week during a period of not more than 14 work weeks per year
• Agriculture workers
• Seamen
• Lumber and forestry operations with less than 13 employees, including individuals who plant or tend trees; cruise, survey, buck, or fell timber; or prepare or transport forestry products (such as logs) to the mill, processing plant, railroad, or other transportation terminal
• Outside buyers of poultry, eggs, cream or milk in their raw or natural state
• Hospital employees who provide medical services
• Employees who have a Flexible Work Hour Plan as part of a collective bargaining agreement
• Work performed by an employee under a Voluntary Flexible Work Hour Plan if:

• • The employee and the employer have signed a written agreement and the written agreement has been filed with the Labor Department; and
  • The Labor Department has issued a certificate approving the plan which states the work is for 40 hours a week and not more than 10 hours a day; for work over 40 hours a week or 10 hours a day under a Flexible Work Hour Plan not included as part of a collective bargaining agreement, overtime compensation at the rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay
• Some line haul truck drivers for trips exceeding 100 road miles
• An individual employed as a “community health aide” by a local or regional health organization
• Some mechanics who are primarily engaged in the servicing of automobiles, light trucks, and motor homes

Alaska’s minimum wage is $11.91 per hour. By law, Alaska’s minimum wage will always be at least one dollar higher than the federal minimum wage. Employers cannot use tips to reduce the minimum wage. In addition, employers must pay the full state minimum wage, regardless of how much the employee makes in tips. School bus drivers working for private contractors must be paid twice the minimum wage. 

You can file a wage complaint with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DLWD). Information about how to file a claim is located in the DLWD website.

• If you have a wage/hour claim, do not delay in contacting the DLWD to file a claim. There are strict time limits in which wage claims must be filed. In order for the agency to act on your behalf for violations of overtime and minimum wage laws, you must file with the DLWD within two years from the date that the work was actually performed. Claims for straight-time wages or other promised benefits are subject to a three-year deadline.

As you might have other legal claims with shorter deadlines, do not wait to file your claim until your time limit is close to expiring. You may wish to consult with an attorney prior to filing your claim, if possible. Yet if you are unable to find an attorney who will assist you, it is not necessary to have an attorney to file your claim with the DLWD. 

If you have contacted the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DLWD) for file a claim and the DLWD believes there is enough evidence to support your claim then the case may be filed in court. If the wages and penalties you believed to be owed to you are less than $20,000, the case may be filed in Small Claims Court. You must be willing to appear and testify in a Department meeting or in court.

In Alaska, employees can file a private lawsuit to recover unpaid back wages, liquidated damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.