The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides standard requirements to employers for fair employee compensation. The FLSA states that employees who work over 40 hours in a workweek, are to be paid a rate of no less than one and a half times their regular pay. This means that employers are legally bound to pay their employees “time and a half” for any hours over 40 in a workweek.

FLSA’s Overtime Standards

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the 40 hour standard applies on a “workweek” basis. This means that the workweek is fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, which is seven consecutive 24-hour periods.  Additionally, overtime should normally be paid on the regular pay day for the pay period in which the overtime hours were actually worked.

How Employers Get Around FLSA

Few things are worse than not getting paid for long hours. Unfortunately, it has almost become commonplace in some businesses for employers and managers to try to avoid paying rightful overtime rates to hardworking employees. Listed below are just a few of the ways employers try to get around fairly compensating their hardworking employees. If any of the following scenarios sound familiar, you should contact an experienced overtime employment law attorney for a consultation.

How Employers Try to Avoid Fairly Compensating Workers

• Not counting work-from-home hours
• Reclassifying an actual employee as an independent contractor
• Reclassifying an employee as a manager, when he or she is actually an employee
• Paying employees for “straight time” instead of overtime
• Allowing or requiring employees to work “off the clock”
• Not counting breaks and “working lunches” towards overtime
• Failing to give an employee his or her final paycheck

What if You Haven’t Been Fairly Compensated

There are options available to employees who haven’t been fairly compensated for overtime hours. First, you need to speak with an experienced employment law attorney. If you haven’t been fairly compensated for your overtime hours, contact the skilled team at Weldon & Rothman, PL. It may even be possible to recover liquidated damages too. Don’t let unlawful actions on your employer’s part stop you from getting the money you earned. Contact us today at (877) 730-5180 for a free consultation.

Legal Disclaimer: The above guidelines are educational in nature and do not create an attorney/client relationship. It is highly recommended that all Florida citizens with employment law issues contact an experienced local Florida employment law attorney to assist them with specific facts and circumstances regarding their labor and employment law matter. If you have been the victim of illegal activities at your workplace, then feel free to contact Attorney Rothman at Weldon & Rothman, PL toll free at (877) 730-5180 or via e-mail at info@weldonrothman.com

Bradley P. Rothman is an experienced Florida employment law attorney who has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star.  He is a principal member of Weldon & Rothman, PL – a Southwest Florida law firm with offices in Naples, Fort Myers, and Sarasota.