Employment Discrimination Lawyers and Labor Law Lawyers

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Are You Working Overtime in South Florida And Not Being Paid For It?

Because of the current recession, many employees have been laid off. Their co-workers, while happy to still have a job, have been forced to pick up the slack left after the former employee's departure. As a result, millions of American workers are now doing "double-duty" at work and putting in lots of overtime. To add insult to injury, the Department of Labor estimates that approximately 70 percent of employers are not complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which requires non-exempt workers to be paid overtime wages if they work more than a standard 40 hour work week.

Since 1937, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has set the labor standards and guidelines for employers. The FLSA established 40 hours per week as the legal work week and requires overtime pay to be due to an employee for hours worked beyond the standard 40-hour work week. The FLSA also set the rate for overtime wages at 1.5 times the regular hourly wage for each hour worked beyond the 40 hour week.

Often, employers try to get around paying this overtime. They misclassify workers as exempt by giving them important-sounding job titles or by paying them salaries instead of hourly wages. The labors laws have gray areas, though, and there are certain salaried employees who are entitled to overtime pay and certain job titles that are non-exempt even though it sounds like the employee is in an executive or administrative position. A job title alone does not exempt a worker from overtime pay.

People in certain occupations are also routinely denied overtime pay even though they are entitled to it. As an example, nurses are generally thought of as exempt employees because they are considered "learned professionals." But, licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses who are paid hourly may be entitled to overtime pay. Additional violations can come up regarding breaks and meal times for nurses. Some employers and staffing agencies automatically deduct these breaks and meal times from a nurse's weekly hours even if he or she is too busy to take a break, but many courts have ruled that these policies are also in violation of the FLSA.

Are you owed overtime pay? You are qualified to collect overtime in South Florida if you work more than forty hours in a week, even if:

• You are paid a salary
• You are a tipped employee
• Your job title is manager, but you do very little managerial work
• You are paid on a piece work or per trip basis
• You are not a U.S. Citizen
• You don't have records of all the hours you worked

Also be aware that the FLSA prohibits an employer from punishing or firing an employee who has asserted his or her rights to overtime wages.

Do you have a South Florida overtime claim? Florida overtime attorney Joseph M. Maus can help you determine if your employer may owe you money. Call him at 1-866-556-5529, visit his website at www.mauslawfirm.com, or email him today. The Law Office of Joseph M. Maus and Associates has handled some of the largest South Florida overtime claims. Attorneys in their office were recently appointed in Federal Court as lead counsel in an Overtime Class Action against a large Fortune 500 Company. Call their offices today for a free consultation or for more information on South Florida overtime claims.

About the Author

South Florida Attorney Joseph M. Maus and Associates has been helping victims of injuries and accidents for 17 years. The firm prides itself on having the resources and experience of the largest state-wide law firms, yet providing individualized attention to each and every client.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 11:52 am and is filed under Employment Discrimination Attorney. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.