In spite of the FLSA Overtime rules, each year employees are cheated out of their overtime pay by their employers. While some companies may unknowingly keep from paying an employee the overtime pay that they are due some companies intentionally do not pay their employees the “time and half” pay that they are due for overtime as regulated by the FLSA FairPay overtime rules.
Did your employer unintentionally not pay you for your overtime?
- Employer misclassifies employees as “exempt” from the FLSA overtime law requirements
- Employer failed to identify, record, or compensate “off-the-clock” hours spent by employees performing compensable, job-related activities
- Employers failing to include “wage augments” such as longevity pay when calculating an employee’s overtime rate.
Did your employer knowingly try to cheat you out of the overtime pay that you are due under the FLSA overtime laws?
- Sometimes employers seek to avoid overtime by granting employees “compensatory time” in lieu of cash for overtime hours worked, or “averaging hours” from work period to work period, or similar gimmicks.
- Sometimes employers will refuse to pay an employee for the time they have for breaks. If the break lasts only five to twenty minutes, the FLSA overtime rules require the inclusion of that time in paid time.
- Many employers don’t give 30 minutes completely free from work duties for lunch, or they require you to clock out for lunch but remain working at your station. If you must work during lunch, then your employer must pay you for the time.
- At the end of the day, or your shift, your supervisor says “You should have finished this work during your shift. Go ahead and clock out, but you will need to finish it before you leave for the day. I am not paying you for the time it takes to complete this job.”
Generally speaking most companies try to cut costs and one way is to avoid paying their employees overtime. The FLSA overtime law requires that, unless your position makes you exempt, any overtime that you work must be paid at a rate of at least time and half for that extra time.
For a company to deliberately try to keep from paying an employee their due wages is a violation of the FLSA overtime rules and damages (including liquidated damages that double the amount owed) may be awarded. If your company has withheld overtime pay you believe you are due, fill out the Lore Law Firm’s free online Case Evaluation Form today and one of our experienced overtime attorneys will discuss the merits of your claim with you.
