Unpaid Benefits / Unpaid Overtime / Unpaid Wages

Are you entitled to unpaid overtime or unpaid wages?

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

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

• filing a claim for unpaid wages with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division
• seeking a settlement through mediation, and/or
• filing a lawsuit on your behalf and on behalf of other employees in similar situations

What Does The FLSA Say About Paying Overtime?

The Fair Labor Standards Act is federal law that is meant to ensure the right of workers in the U.S. to a minimum wage and a time-and-a-half overtime pay when a person has worked over forty hours a week. There are exemptions to this rule for certain types of employees including managers, certain professionals, executives, general contractors, and volunteers. Overtime must be paid on the usual payday for the workweek in which it was earned.

In addition, each workweek in the pay period is considered in isolation when determining overtime pay. If an employee works 30 hours one week and 50 hours the next, ten hours overtime must be paid for the second week instead of averaging the hours to pay out two 40-hour weeks at base pay.

Sometimes, overtime is not properly paid because of misclassification of employees. Whether intentional or not, this is a violation of the law.

Under the FLSA, employers are also required to pay minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, but many states have their own minimum wage policies that may apply to your situation.

If you believe your employer isn’t paying you the correct minimum wage, you can file a federal claim to recover up to $7.25 an hour; however, if your state’s minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, you can file a claim with your state’s Wage and Hour Division.

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 obligation involved in speaking to an attorney about your situation to find out whether you may have a case.