Attorneys:
Jeff Mundy: Click here to contact
Mike Singley: Click here to contact
Staff:
Paralegal:
Mary Pickett
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Administrative Contact:
Cissy Rico
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Overtime Rights – Paying Overtime is the Law
The Fair Labor Standards Act, also known as “FLSA,” requires employers to pay employees for working overtime in excess of forty hours a week. The FLSA also requires employers to pay employees at a rate of 150% (“time and a half”) of their regular pay for the time in excess of forty hours.
Sadly, employers, even big, well-known corporations, continue to ignore this well known law taking the rightful wages from employees and putting those wages in their own pockets as extra profits and bonuses to their executives and investors.
The Law Provides A Penalty of Double the Overtime Wages Owed, Plus Attorneys’ Fees
If you are covered by the FLSA, the overtime rights law, and your employer fails to pay you the overtime wages you are owed, then the law provides for recovery of double the amount of overtime wages owed, plus attorneys’ fees, for having to bring a case to enforce the law that the employer should have obeyed.
This penalty is to motivate employers to obey the law, to not wrongfully take wages from their employees, and to encourage employees to stand up for themselves and their families.
One Employer Breaking the Law Can Impact Many Families
Sadly, an employer that cheats one employee out of their rightfully earned wages often treats all of their employees the same. Standing up for yourself and your family by insisting that your employer obey the law and pay rightfully earned wages also may help your fellow workers and their families.
If your employer has failed to pay you overtime wages required by law, please call a Mundy & Singley lawyer for a free consultation about your rights under the law.
Common Overtime Law Violations
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“Off the Clock” Work
The law requires employers to pay for all the time an employee spends doing work or work-related tasks required by the employer. Sometimes, employers require some work-related tasks to be “off the clock,” and they wrongly and incorrectly will claim that this time does not “count.” The following are examples of “off the clock” time that courts have required to be counted toward overtime in some situations, depending on the facts:
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doing paperwork or safety checks before clocking in or after clocking out;
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putting on or taking off special clothing or gear before clocking in or after clocking out;
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work from home or work-related travel;
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being required to work during lunch; and,
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not being paid for regular breaks.
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“Contractor” or Employee?
To increase profits, some employers call workers “contractors” and give them 1099s, when the law regards them as employees with the rights of employees including overtime pay. Just because your employer calls you a “contractor” doesn’t make it so! Have you worked for more than 6 months for only one employer? Have you received all your income from that employer? Do you get only one 1099 a year? If so, the law may treat you as an employee entitled to overtime no matter what your employer tries to do to avoid its responsibilities under the law.
This violation is common because employers can dramatically increase their profits by not following the law. This practice cheats workers and their families out of rightfully earned wages. Also, these companies are cheating the other honest businesses that follow the law. If you wonder whether you should be treated as an employee, even though your employer says you are a “contractor,” call a Mundy & Singley attorney today for a free consultation.
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Wrongly Classifying As “Exempt”
– Some Salaried Employees Are Entitled to Overtime
Some employees are “exempt” from the provisions and application of the Fair Labor Standards Act, such as corporate officers and most managers. However, just because an employee receives a salary rather than hourly pay does NOT mean they are “exempt.” Some salaried employees are entitled to the protection of the overtime law. Just because your employer says someone is exempt based on a job title also does not make it so. The law has specific rules and many people are wrongly called “exempt” by their employer, when in fact they are covered by the law and entitled to overtime rights.
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Comp Time Instead of Pay
The law requires employees to be paid overtime for hours worked over forty hours in a single week. Forcing employees to take “comp time” rather than paying overtime usually is a violation of the FLSA.
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Tipped Employees
Tipped employees are frequent victims of labor law violations, both regarding overtime and minimum wage laws. The rules can be confusing to the employee, and employers often take advantage of the employee’s confusion to increase profits at the expense of the employee. Employers must make sure that tipped employees earn the minimum wage when direct pay and tips are combined. Tips can be pooled, but with important restrictions. Only employees can receive tips from the pool – the employer cannot take a share of the tip pool. Also, only employees who customarily receive tips may share in the tip pool. For example, waiters, bartenders, and busboys/girls can share in the tip pool, but cooks and janitors cannot share in the tip pool since those are not customarily tipped positions.
If you feel your employer is violating these laws, please contact a Mundy & Singley lawyer for a free consultation about your rights.
Retaliation is Illegal
It is illegal for your employer to retaliate against you when you stand up for yourself, your family, and your co-workers, to make the employer follow the law.
Which Employees are “Exempt” and Not Covered By the Overtime Rights Law?
Many workers are protected by the overtime rights provisions of the FLSA. However, certain categories of “white collar” employees are exempt from the protection of the law, including salaried administrative employees, salaried professionals and executives, many salespeople, and computer employees. These are known as “exempt” employees. If you have an overtime case but wonder whether the law applies to you, contact a lawyer at Mundy & Singley to determine your eligibility for the protection of the overtime rights law.
More information on “exempt” employees can be found at the Department of Labor web site:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17a_overview.pdf
Contact a Mundy & Singley Attorney for a Free Consultation
The lawyers at Mundy & Singley believe that employees should receive the wages they rightfully and legally earn under the law. Mundy & Singley are willing to stand up and fight for employees and force employers to obey the law. If you believe your employer may not be paying you or others all of the overtime you are owed, contact a Mundy & Singley attorney for a free consultation about your rights under the law and whether you can bring a case for double the wages you are owed.
Houston, Austin, and all Texas residents can contact a Mundy & Singley Overtime Rights attorney to learn how best to pursue their case.
Mundy & Singley, L.L.P.
8911 N. Capital of Texas Hwy.
Suite 2105
Austin, TX 78759
Telephone: 512-334-4300
Facsimile: 512-334-4256
