Recovering Unpaid Overtime For Employees
Employee overtime (forty or more hours in a workweek), wage and hour, and minimum wage is protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The FLSA was enacted by Congress in 1938 as part of the New Deal legislation in response to the Great Depression to ensure that American workers receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. The FLSA requires employers to pay an overtime rate “not less than one and one-half times” the employee’s regular rate of pay for work in excess of forty (40) hours in a given workweek. When calculating the employee’s overtime rate the hourly wage, commissions and bonuses must be included.
Almost every employee in the United States is covered by the FLSA. If you worked in excess of forty (40) hours in a given workweek and did not receive proper overtime, you may be entitled to recover or be compensated for your lost wages. Our wage and hour attorneys in Orlando handle all types of wage-related cases for employees, including unpaid overtime claims. You may be entitled to money damages if you were wrongly denied overtime or underpaid even if you were a salaried employee, a commissioned employee, or categorized as an “independent contractor.”
Unpaid Overtime Claims In Central Florida
If you believe that you have not received proper overtime for work you have performed you owe it to yourself and your family to contact our Orlando overtime attorneys to discuss your potential remedies. Many companies and employers in Central Florida sidestep overtime and wage requirements to save money on their bottom line. Both hourly and salaried employees in Orlando and all of Central Florida are increasingly becoming victims of this practice. Many common misconceptions regarding proper pay requirements exist and many employees are not even aware that they are being paid unlawfully. To determine whether you or a family member are being paid overtime properly contact our Central Florida overtime attorneys to review your specific facts.
Are You Entitled To Overtime Pay?
Overtime law requires that a worker receive not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over forty in a workweek. Many employees do not receive overtime because:
- The employer misclassifies them as an independent contractor rather than an employee;
- The employer misclassifies them as “exempt” from the overtime law;
- Employees believe that because they are salaried, receive commissions, piece rate, day rates, job rates, are paid based on production, only receive tips- that they are not entitled to overtime;
- The employer fails to count all hours worked towards overtime. For example, the employer fails to include the following towards an employee’s hours worked: wait time, travel time, on-call time, meal time, rest time, time spent putting on and taking off protective gear, meetings conducted before and after an employee’s shift, time spent at home answering emails, time spent at home answering telephone calls, time spent at home filling-out paperwork, time spent at home calling customers for the next day;
- The employer fails to include all wages in calculating the rate of pay for overtime. For example, the employer fails to include the following pay in calculating overtime: commissions, bonuses, or premium pay;
- Tipped employees are forced to share their tips with employees that do not regularly and customarily receive tips;
- Employers keep some or all of an employee’s tips;
- Interns and volunteers believe they are not entitled to overtime;
- Sales employees, managers, and supervisors believe they are not entitled to overtime.
The above list is merely a small sample of reasons why employees are not receiving all of their overtime. There are many other reasons. If you believe you have an unpaid wage claim, a minimum wage claim, or an overtime claim, please contact the Orlando overtime attorneys at LaBar Adams, P.A. for additional information.
Contact Our Experienced Orlando Overtime Attorneys
If you believe that you or someone you care about has a valid overtime claim in Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee or anywhere within the Central Florida area, contact our overtime attorneys to discuss your case as soon as possible. We have helped hundreds of employees recover their unpaid overtime, unpaid minimum wage, and unpaid wages. We practice law by insuring that all our able-bodied working men and woman receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. If you believe you are entitled to unpaid overtime wages, please contact the employment attorneys at LaBar & Adams, P.A. in Orlando at 407-835-8968 or fill out the online form located on our website.
