A salary employee overtime attorney can help hourly and salaried employees, as well as certain contractors, who work over 40 hours a week. The 40-hour work week is standard in the United States for most workers who are employed full time. In general, any hours that exceed this standard are considered overtime and must legally be compensated at a higher rate than the employee normally receives. In the event that an employer fails to provide the sufficient rate of pay to workers, they may be found in violation of federal statutes. Federal law also protects underpaid workers from retaliation if they pursue a claim, and an unpaid overtime lawsuit may be an option for an employee 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 unpaid overtime lawsuit attorney who can assist you throughout the legal process.
What Is Overtime Pay?
According to the United States Department of Labor, there are no stipulations on what days overtime pay must occur. For instance, an employee would not necessarily receive overtime compensation simply because they worked during a holiday or on a weekend. The only rule is that the employee must have worked in excess of 40 hours during the workweek.
However, there are regulations about how much an employer must compensate their employee for working overtime. Overtime pay must equal at least 1.5 times the amount that the employee would normally receive. Therefore, if an employee typically received an hourly wage of $10, their overtime pay would necessarily need to be $15 per hour or more.
Who Are Exempt and Nonexempt Employees?
One complicating aspect of the Fair Labor Standards Act is that a number of types of employees are classified as exempt from the overtime regulations, says the Department of Labor. These exempted employees include many different types of workers who are employed at a variety of different jobs. Some of the most popular positions that do not qualify from the overtime pay laws include:
- Salaried individuals who are in administrative, sales and executive positions
- Small-scale farmers
- Employees who are in sales and receive a certain amount of commission on their sales
- Computer professionals who are highly paid
- Household employees who live in the home and/or babysitters who work informally
- Drivers of taxis and other driving professionals, including mechanics, loaders and driver’s aids
If an employee does not fit into any of the many categories that are considered exempt, then that employee is considered subject to the federal overtime pay stipulations. Workers with complex cases, such as those who perform both nonexempt and exempt duties in the same work week, may have a difficult time determining if they are subject to the overtime pay laws or not.
Important forthcoming changes to the federal regulations, however, are on the way, states Fortune magazine. According to alterations put in place in 2016, adjusted laws will determine that even a formerly exempt employee will be qualified to receive overtime compensation if their work includes eligible activities that take up at least half of their working hours.
Who Is Hiring Salary Employee Overtime Attorneys?
Five million dollars is the figure that one man, who was employed at a California-based space technology corporation, is suing his employer for, alleging that the company knowingly failed to compensate their workers appropriately for overtime hours, says the Huffington Post. Many other employees who believe that they have been wrongly categorized as exempt from overtime pay laws or employees who are nonexempt and have not been appropriately compensated for their overtime hours are taking legal action to collect their unpaid wages.
According to Business Management Daily, workers might be able to be compensated for up to two or even three years of missed overtime wages if they have been incorrectly marked as exempt from the overtime laws. Because many employees have been inaccurately classed as exempt when they were actually nonexempt, this discrepancy may lead to employees choosing to file lawsuits against their employers who made this incorrect categorization.
How a Salary Employee Overtime Attorney 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.
