Investigations: Failure to Provide Compensation for Overtime

Many employers fail to provide their employees overtime and other pay to which they are entitled under state and federal law.  The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law that defines employers’ wage and hour requirements.  FLSA requires employers to pay employees at least one and one-half their regular rate of pay for work performed in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.  State laws can be even stricter than FLSA, in some cases limiting the number of hours an employee can work in a single day without earning overtime pay.

Common violations of wage and hour laws include the failure to pay overtime, requiring work “off the clock,” not crediting time for meal periods and rest breaks, and not crediting time “on-call.”  Employers often avoid overtime pay requirements by misclassifying their employees as “executives,” “administrators,” “professionals,” “highly compensated,” or “independent contractors.”  However, in order to qualify for any of these exemptions, an employee’s actual job requirements must meet very specific guidelines.  Any mischaracterization of an employee’s duties in order to avoid paying overtime or any other wages is a violation of law. 

The above practices can result in significant losses to employees who regularly work long hours without proper compensation; those employees have the right to recover the wages they earned but were never paid.  If you believe you, or someone you know, has not been properly compensated for hours worked, please contact Lewis Saul & Associates toll-free at (888) 747-5342 or fill out our convenient online contact form and a member of our firm will contact you by the next business day for a free consultation.