This is from FindLaw, one of the best legal
informational sources for those of us here in the
states:

: I put in more than forty hours on the job each week,
without overtime pay. Am I entitled to time off to
compensate for this? 

Most workers are familiar with compensatory or comp
time -- the practice of offering employees time off
from work in place of cash payments for overtime. What
comes as a shock to many is that the practice is
illegal in most situations. Under the FLSA, only state
or government agencies may legally allow their
employees time off in place of wages (29 U.S.C.
§207(o)).

Even then, comp time may be awarded only: 

according to the terms of an agreement arranged by
union representatives, or 
if the employer and employee agree to the arrangement
before work begins.
When compensatory time is allowed, it must be awarded
at the rate of one and one-half times the overtime
hours worked -- and comp time must be taken during the
same pay period that the overtime hours were worked.
Some states do allow private employers to give
employees comp time instead of cash. But there are
complex, often conflicting laws controlling how and
when it may be given. A common control, for example,
is that employees must voluntarily request in writing
that comp time be given instead of overtime pay --
before the extra hours are worked. Check with your
state's labor department for special laws on comp time
in your area. 

Many employers and employees routinely violate the
rules governing the use of compensatory time in place
of cash overtime wages. However, such violations are
risky. Employees can find themselves unable to collect
money due to them if a company goes out of business or
they are fired. And employers can end up owing large
amounts of overtime pay to employees as the result of
a labor department prosecution of compensatory time
violations

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