Federal and state laws require employers to pay most employees 1.5 times their hourly rate for any work exceeding 40 hours a week. Many companies try to avoid paying what their employees deserve. It can be a very difficult situation to discuss with your employer as many employees are fearful of losing their job by bringing up a discussion on pay rates. Sometimes employers can bring up performance or other reasoning as to why you should not be receiving overtime pay. This is simply unacceptable.
It is important to know that you deserve to be paid for the hours you are working. You should be respected by your employer and they should pay you what you are legally owed.
If you believe your employer has not paid you the time and a half pay for your overtime hours of work, contact an attorney at Scott & Wallace as soon as you can. Get paid for your hard work!
What to do first
To determine if you should be paid overtime (time and a half of original pay) find out if you are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the FLSA, employers are required to pay certain, non-exempt employees time and a half for all hours worked over 40 hours per week. Check over any and all contracts you have signed prior to beginning your job. If you don’t have access to these contracts, you can get them through the Human Resources (HR) department at your office.
How do I know if I am being paid for overtime?
It is important to keep track of your paychecks. You should notice the increased payment on those days where you are working overtime hours. An easy way to calculate this pay increase for overtime is; say you are working for a normal wage of $14 per hour. For overtime payment, all you have to do is take 1.5 X $14 which = $21 per hour for every overtime hour. If you do not see this increase, then you may not be getting paid what you deserve.
Do I need an attorney?
If you have asked your employer if you are being paid overtime and they say no or do not give a concrete answer as to why you are not being paid for overtime work, it may be time to contact someone that can help. The laws and acts can be complex, and an attorney can help you find out quickly and accurately if you are or aren’t being paid properly.
