The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides for, among other labor-related provisions, overtime pay. In addition, many states including New Jersey and Florida have wage – hour laws requiring employers to compensate employees for all time worked, including proper overtime compensation. All employers, regardless of their industries or fields of work, are required to abide by FLSA and certain state laws regarding compensation for wages and hours. If you suspect that your employer violated FLSA or a similar state law provision, Bagolie Friedman Injury Lawyers can help.
We evaluate claims for individuals, small groups and class actions. Lead (named) plaintiffs in class actions are often entitled to additional compensation, which, in some cases, can be substantial.
Hourly Employees
Employers frequently violate the FLSA and state wage / hour laws. Employees that are covered under FLSA and relevant state laws are entitled to compensation for all time worked and one and a half times their ordinary rate for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. For example, an employee who is normally paid $10 per hour is entitled to $15 per hour for all time worked in excess of 40 hours in a week. The employer is responsible to properly compensate employees for all time worked by the employee, including overtime, even if the employer did not know that the employee was working overtime.
Employers often try to avoid paying overtime in the following ways:
- Having employees work "off the clock";
- denying employees overtime pay when the overtime is not approved by management;
- paying employees their regular rate for overtime work;
- carrying over one week’s overtime hours into another week;
- using a timekeeping method that automatically "clocks out" employees either for lunch periods or at the end of a time period, regardless of whether the employees continue working for the clocked-out time;
- requiring employees to arrive early to perform necessary preparations for work, including putting on or removing protective gear; and altering employees’ time sheets.
Salaried employees misclassified as exempt
An employee is not exempt from overtime payment simply because she is paid the same salary every week, as opposed to by the hour. The most common FLSA exemptions for salaried employees apply primarily to professionals, such as doctors or lawyers, or high-level employees who have a considerable amount of discretion in conducting their affairs. Employees who are not exempt under FLSA or relevant state laws are entitled to be paid for all time worked in excess of 40 hours per week, regardless of their salaried status. Employers frequently violate FLSA by failing to pay overtime to salaried employees that the employer misclassifies as exempt. If your employer misclassified you as exempt, our attorneys can help you.
State Laws on Wages
In addition to the ordinary overtime requirements discussed above, some states require more of employers. For instance, in California, an employee is entitled to time and a half for hours worked in excess of 8 hours per day, even if the employee works less than 40 hours during that week. There are many additional obligations of employers, including mandatory breaks during the work day, which vary from state to state.
For more information on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), click here to visit the United States Department of Labor website.
