A courier unpaid overtime lawyer can help hourly and salaried couriers who work over 40 hours a week recover overtime wages that they are entitled to. Federal laws are in place to provide protection against being denied overtime pay and it also protects underpaid workers from retaliation if they pursue a claim. An unpaid overtime lawsuit may be an option for a courier to recover the compensation he or she deserves.
For more information, contact Attorney Group today. Our consultations are free, confidential and without any obligation on your part. We can help answer your questions, and if you choose to pursue a claim we can connect you with an affiliated courier unpaid overtime lawyer who can assist you throughout the legal process.
What Couriers Do
Couriers travel to destinations, that include offices, to deliver items such as packages and letters, according to O*NET OnLine. They may even transport people or hazardous materials, and they ride bicycles, walk or drive vehicles, such as vans or motorcycles, to deliver their items or transport people. Much of the work takes place out of doors, and couriers must have a strong sense of independence. They must also possess good people skills.
Many couriers have at least a high school degree, work under intense time pressure, and must be accurate in such areas as planning their routes and coordinating their deliveries. They use communications devices such as radios, GPS and phones to help expedite deliveries, and many use bar code scanners and postage meters, among other gadgets. Other job titles for couriers include driver, mail courier, messenger and transporter.
About the FLSA and Overtime Pay
The FLSA is the Fair Labor Standards Act. It governs a host of issues ranging from equal pay to child labor to overtime pay, according to the United States Department of Labor. As far as overtime is concerned, the FLSA sets a minimum pay rate that is 1.5 times the normal pay rate per hour for an employee. Overtime kicks in only when an employee has worked at least 40 hours that work week. As an example of the math, an employee who works 45 hours one week and earns a regular rate of $10 gets paid $15 for the five hours over 40. The employee’s pay total for that week comes to $475. Employees who work on a piecework scale can also be entitled to overtime. Salaried employees, too, can earn overtime.
That said, there are exempt employees; that is, employees who are not entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA. These may include people who work as babysitters, certain maritime employees, administrative or executive employees, and farmworkers.
How the FLSA May Apply to Some Couriers
The FLSA’s Section 13(b)(1), also called the Motor Carrier Exemption, sets out three situations in which people who work with motor carriers may be entitled to overtime. For example, they may drive vehicles that weigh 10,000 pounds or less and meet other criteria. The criteria may be that the employee uses a vehicle and moves hazardous material, transports at least eight people for compensation, or transports at least 15 people not for compensation. This description tends to fit many home delivery van drivers and courier van drivers.
In general, couriers do not meet the exempt employees provision of the FLSA; they tend not to be salaried and they do not perform high-level work. Even if they are salaried, however, the Motor Carrier Exemption indicates that they are entitled to overtime pay.
Some employers try to say that couriers are independent contractors and thus not entitled to overtime. In many cases, however, the work that couriers do is integral to business operations, the employer controls the courier’s work schedule to a high degree and work relationships are long term, with the courier dependent on the employer for income, all of which indicate something other than independent contractor status under the FLSA.
Why Some People Might File a Courier Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit
Many lawsuits have been filed by couriers seeking unpaid overtime wages. For example, in early 2016, four former drivers for a courier service company, who contracts with Amazon, sued both Amazon and their own firm. They alleged that they worked almost 50 hours a week without getting time and a half and that their tips were unfairly withheld.
How a Courier Unpaid Overtime Lawyer Can Help
Federal law, and many state laws, require employers to pay employees for overtime at a rate of not less than 1.5 times their regular rate of pay. These same laws protect underpaid workers from retaliation if they pursue a claim, and an unpaid wages lawyer can help an employee recover the compensation he or she deserves.
The Time You Have to Pursue a Claim is Limited. Contact Us Today.
For more information, contact Attorney Group. You can fill out the form on this page or contact us by phone or email.
After you contact us, an attorney will follow up to answer questions that you might have. There is no cost or obligation to speak with us, and any information you provide will be kept confidential.
Please note that the law limits the time you have to pursue a claim or file a lawsuit for an injury. If you think you have a case, you should not delay taking action.
