Unpaid Overtime and Wages (FSLA)

If you believe your employer has failed to pay  you the minimum wage, or has failed to pay you for overtime hours you worked, you may have a claim against your employer under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

If you believe you are entitled to unpaid wages, we can potentially assist you in a number of different ways, including:

• filing a complaint for unpaid wages with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division
• seeking a settlement through mediation, and/or
• filing a private lawsuit on your behalf and on behalf of other, similarly-situated employees as a “collective action.”

What Does The FLSA Say About Paying Overtime?

• The Fair Labor Standards Act is federal law that is meant to protect the right of workers in the U.S. to receive at least the minimum wage and time-and-a-half overtime pay when an employee has worked more than forty hours in a single week. However, certain employees are exempt from these protections, including some executive, administrative, and professional employees who meet specific salary and job-duty requirements. Independent contractors and certain other categories of workers may also fall outside the FLSA’s coverage.
• Overtime must be paid on the regular payday for the pay periods in which it was earned.
• In addition, each workweek is considered separately when determining overtime pay. For example, if you work 30 hours one week and 50 hours the next, your employer cannot average those hours together and pay you for two 40-hour weeks at your base rate. Instead, you are entitled to overtime pay for the 10 extra hours you worked in the second week.
• Sometimes, overtime is not properly paid because of misclassification of employees as “exempt” or as independent contractors. Whether intentional or not, this is a violation of the law.
• Under the FLSA, employers are also required to pay at least the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, but many states and some cities have their own minimum wage policies that may apply to your situation. You are entitled to whichever minimum wage – federal, state, or local – is the highest.
• If your employer has failed to pay you at least the minimum wage or has not paid you proper overtime, you may be entitled to recover your unpaid wages, an equal amount as “liquidated damages,” and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. In most cases, you must file your claim within two years of the violation—or within three years if the violation was willful. 
• There are other situations in which an employer may have violated the FLSA or applicable state laws governing overtime and minimum wage pay. Our attorneys can evaluate your situation to determine whether you have a claim against your employer. There is no cost or obligation to you for speaking with an attorney about your situation to find out whether you may have a case.