Overtime Pay - Who Can Sue
If you feel you have worked overtime at you job and are not being paid for it, you should contact an
employment attorney or overtime lawyer to file a claim for your unpaid overtime.
When Overtime Pay is Due
Employees are due overtime pay for working more than 40 hours per week in most situations.
Overtime generally means earning additional pay for time worked after the employee ends a regular workday, usually an eight-hour day. If you work overtime, your employer must do two things. First they must keep detailed time records, and then pay you at least one and a half times your regular pay rate. If you fit into this situation and have not been paid for overtime, you should seek the help of an employment attorney to file a claim.
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay minimum wage and overtime. Unfortunately, some employers take advantage of the many different laws, paying employees less than what is required. Employers often try to avoid paying overtime by misclassifying employees as "exempt," having employees work "off the clock," or refusing to pay employees for certain hours worked. Employers often try to arrange overtime scams.
To find out if your extra hours should be paid for overtime, contact an employment attorney near you.
Employee Rights Concerning Overtime
Under the FLSA, an employee cannot waive their rights. So, when an employer strikes a deal with an employee allowing the employee to work off the clock for tips or for some other purposes, the employer still has to pay wages. The FLSA doesn't let employers take advantage of employees in this manner because it would be so easy for an employer to just claim "he just wanted to work a little more for free."
The rule is that if the employer allows you to work, you have to get paid for all of the time you worked.
Know your rights in this situation and don’t get taken advantage of by seeing an employment attorney.
Legal Recourse for Unpaid Overtime
Employment attorneys can represent employees whose employer:
- Pays below the federal amount for overtime
- Expects employees to work excessive hours for salary pay
- Pays wages or salary with goods or services instead of money
- Making you work during breaks and lunch
One of the requirements in the FLSA to prove that an employee is under salary and not an hourly employee for the purposes of paying overtime is the concept of a “constant weekly wage,” where the employee gets a set salary for set hours worked per week. Any variance on that theme can result in the employee collecting overtime. Many employers are forced to hire extra employees to avoid overtime but with the unemployment rate above 9 percent, this is seen less and less and unpaid overtime is seen more.
If you are not being paid for time worked, contact an employment lawyer to file suit.
Employment Lawyer Qualifications
Your overtime employment lawyer will most likely need to research your specific circumstances in order to make a determination as to whether the FLSA applies to you.
Your lawyer will take the laws that apply to you and see how it fits into your overtime situation. They will also be able to record what excessive time you have to work to turn that time into overtime pay.
If you are not the only employee that holds a position in a company who has been underpaid for overtime due, it is possible that a collective action may be asserted against the employer with the guidance of an overtime lawyer.
Recent News About Overtime Lawsuits
For example, In a 2006 lawsuit filed by several Oceanside, CA police officers claim they weren't paid for work-related chores that they did off the clock, such as putting on their uniforms, checking e-mails and finalizing arrest reports, court documents show. Oceanside is one of several cities fighting this type of labor action, inspired by a Supreme Court decision in 2005 that meatpackers were entitled to wages for time spent putting on and taking off their safety gear.
The city of Santa Rosa settled with 80 of its police officers for $240,000 for such a lack of overtime pay.