Assisting You In Collecting Unpaid Overtime
When an employer fails to pay you what you’re due, they can be held liable in court. If you receive payment on an hourly base but have not yet received payment for your overtime, contact McDonald & Kloth, LLC. We represent clients in Wisconsin and Illinois relating to wage and hour issues. We can help you file a claim against your employer and collect your rightful wages.
Overtime Labor Laws
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) determines when overtime can be applied and how much employees must be paid for working overtime. This act prohibits employees from working more than eight hours per day or over 40 hours in a week.
The one exception to this is when an employer pays their employees overtime at a rate of one and one-half times the employee’s regular hourly wage. In short, employees who work any additional hours beyond the established 40 hours are entitled to one and one-half of what they typically make for every extra hour they work.
What Does the Amount of Unpaid Overtime Depend On?
The amount of unpaid overtime that you could potentially receive depends on four factors:
- How many overtime hours you worked in each pay period
- The amount earned in each pay period
- If your employer has a reasonable basis for believing you were exempt from overtime
- If your employer’s failure to pay overtime was intentional or not
How Do Employers Avoid Paying Overtime?
Unfortunately, many employees don’t receive the correct overtime pay when employers violate FLSA. Here are a few ways they avoid paying overtime:
- Paying you the same hourly rate for every hour you worked in a week, even if you worked more than 40 hours
- Requiring you to clock out for lunch, despite knowing you are working through your break
- Splitting a paycheck into two different checks
- Classifying you as an independent contractor even though you are an employee by law
- Giving you compensatory time or time off to make up for the overtime hours you worked
Who Is Covered By The Overtime Laws?
The federal overtime law covers employees if they fall under the enterprise category. In this case, the employee works for a company that engages in commerce by providing services across state lines and has a dollar volume of sales that exceeds $500,000 in annual revenue. This also includes employees of any company, regardless of annual revenue, who are engaged in commerce.
Even if a company doesn’t meet the $500,000 minimum, there are a few ways it can still be covered by overtime laws. It could still be covered if it is:
- A local, state or federal government agency
- A higher education institution
- A hospital
- An elementary, preschool or secondary school
Generally speaking, when employees don’t fall under the enterprise category, an overtime lawyer can still help them receive compensation if they qualify for individual coverage. This guarantees overtime pay to those who are engaged in interstate commerce.
Effective Representation For Unpaid Overtime
Do you know you’re owed money but need help to recover it? The wage violation attorneys at McDonald & Kloth, LLC will review all existing policies of the employer, as well as the details surrounding the employee’s job. All of this information is used to create an effective defense against claims. Contact us today.