What is Unpaid Overtime?

There are many different problems — and legal violations — that can be the source of an employee being paid less than what they are owed from their employer. Depending on your employment status and classification, your employer could be required to pay you overtime rates for any hours you work beyond the 40-hour workweek. If you are not properly paid an overtime rate for additional hours worked, then you may be owed unpaid overtime. While some employers fail to pay overtime wages erroneously and will quickly correct the issue once your lawyer provides clear information, other employers intentionally misclassify employees to avoid paying overtime or simply do not pay overtime wages even when they are owed.

Our Palm Beach Gardens wage and hour law attorneys can tell you more about unpaid overtime, what overtime rates should be, and how to seek compensation and additional damages in an unpaid overtime claim.

Fair Labor Standards Act Requires Non-Exempt Employees to Be Paid Overtime 

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), any non-exempt employee must be paid at the rate of 1.5 times the employee’s hourly wage for any additional hours that are worked beyond the regular 40-hour workweek. What this means is that, if you are a non-exempt employee, if you work more than 40 hours in a week, for any hours worked beyond 40, you must be paid 1.5 times what you usually earn for your hourly rate. For example, if you earn $20 per hour and you work 45 hours in a week, you would be owed 5 hours at a rate of 1.5 times your regular hourly wage, or $30 per hour. If you are not paid $30 per hour for those 5 overtime hours, then you could have an unpaid overtime claim.

What makes an employee non-exempt and eligible for overtime pay? Generally, employees above a salary threshold, as well as those classified as “executive, administrative, and professional employees,” and employees in specific occupations, are exempt. To determine your appropriate status, you should speak with a lawyer.

How to File an Unpaid Overtime Claim 

To file an unpaid overtime claim under the FLSA, you should get in touch with a lawyer as soon as possible for assistance. You will have two years to file an unpaid overtime claim, after which point the claim will become time-barred under the statute of limitations. If your employer willfully violated the FLSA by failing to pay you overtime, you may have one additional year.

If you file an unpaid overtime claim and win, you can be eligible to obtain all of the back pay you are owed for your unpaid overtime, as well as monetary damages that are effectively a penalty for your employer.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Wage and Hour Lawyer 

Much too often, employees are unpaid in South Florida because their employers do not properly pay them overtime wages when it is required under federal law. If you believe you were owed increased wages for overtime work, then you could have an unpaid overtime claim and could seek back pay in addition to damages. It is important to get started on your case as soon as possible with one of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens wage and hour lawyers at Sconzo Law Office. Contact us today to learn more about unpaid wage cases, to have your questions answered, and to begin working on your claim.

Source:

dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa