Atlanta Overtime Pay Lawyer
Many workers are not receiving the compensation they are entitled to for working long hours. The failure to pay for overtime work is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and can result in significant financial losses for employees. As a result, it is essential for employees to understand their rights and take appropriate action to ensure they receive the wages they are owed. Let’s explore the issue of unpaid overtime pay in Atlanta and provide information on what employees can do to protect their rights.
What is Overtime Pay?
For most employees, overtime is any time an employee works more than 40 hours a week. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) typically requires overtime pay equal to one-and-a-half times the normal hourly rate. However, other calculations such as the fluctuating workweek and half-time may apply, limiting the amounts owed. For purposes of calculating overtime, wages, commissions, and performance-based bonuses are included. Expense reimbursements, perks, holiday pay or bonuses, and other gifts from the employer are not.
Compensable Work Time
Compensable work time typically includes all hours the employee is required to be present on the premises or at a designated work area outside those premises. This time includes work done before or after regular hours, including travel between job sites. However, it does not include non-working lunch breaks or commute time between work and home. If an employee is allowed to work, even if the employee is not required to be present, this time is compensable under the FLSA.
Who Is Entitled to Overtime Pay?
In most cases, a business is covered by the FLSA overtime provisions if it both 1) generates at least $500,000 a year in sales and 2) handles goods or materials that have moved through interstate commerce. Even if a company meets those criteria, employees may fall into one of many exempt categories, which include:
- Executive, administrative, and professional employees – those workers that either help manage the company or must regularly exercise independent judgment – and who are paid a salary (pay that is the same week after week) of at least $684 per week
- Certain persons who work in transportation jobs that affect safety, such as motor carrier drivers
- Salespeople who regularly work outside their employers’ offices
- Certain computer specialists who earn at least $27.63 per hour
- Employees of seasonal amusement and recreational businesses, organized camps, and religious and nonprofit conference centers
- Newspaper deliverers and employees of certain small newspapers
- Seamen and fishermen
- Employees of small farms
- Certain switchboard operators
- Criminal investigators
- Casual domestic babysitters and companions of those unable to care for themselves (but not nurses or personal or home-care aides)
FLSA Violations
As employment lawyers, it’s important to understand the consequences that can result from violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Employers who violate the FLSA may be subject to a range of financial penalties and legal repercussions. These consequences include back pay, where employers may be required to pay employees for any unpaid overtime, minimum wage, or other compensation owed to them. Employers are usually also required to pay liquidated damages, which are equal to the amount of back pay owed. Additionally, employers who violate the FLSA may be subject to civil penalties depending on the severity of the violation. Employers who violate the FLSA may be required to pay the employee’s legal fees in the event of a lawsuit. In extreme cases, employers who violate the FLSA may even face criminal charges, including fines and imprisonment.
Employees’ Rights Lawyer
Employers may deprive their workers of overtime pay in numerous ways, such as misclassifying them as administrative or professional workers, independent contractors, or other exempt types of workers, mischaracterizing their pay as a salary when it is actually based on the number of hours worked or amount of work done, giving them job titles that mask the fact that they are nonexempt, and failing to record or calculate accurately the number of hours they work.
Federal law states that claims must be made within either two or three years after the work is performed, depending on whether the employer’s actions are “willful.” It also prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee who demands overtime or files an overtime claim. Retaliation can take the form of termination, demotion, or any other adverse job action. Our attorneys at DeLong, Caldwell, Bridgers, Fitzpatrick, & Benjamin, LLC have experience on both sides of retaliation claims, working diligently to protect their client’s interests.
Get a Free Consultation
As Atlanta overtime attorneys, we at DeLong, Caldwell, Bridgers, Fitzpatrick, & Benjamin, LLC thoroughly review the facts of each case. We advise on the best path for a satisfactory resolution. Visit our website today for more information on how we can help your case!