Clearwater Unpaid Overtime Lawyer | Clearwater Unpaid Wages

Overtime work is anytime an individual works more than 40 hours in one week. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, you cannot be paid any less than one-and-a-half times your hourly rate for every hour of overtime work. So, if you make $10 an hour and you work 45 hours, you should be paid $15 an hour for the additional five hours of work.

If you are a non-exempt employee, your employer does not have the discretion to determine whether or not you will be paid for overtime work. It is not optional, and your employer is required to pay you no less than time-and-a-half for overtime. You cannot negotiate with your employer regarding overtime wages. Theoretically, you could negotiate with your employer, but it would be unlawful in the employer’s part to negotiate for less than time-and-a-half for any overtime hours that you work. If your employer attempts to negotiate with you regarding overtime pay, it is in your best interest to contact a Clearwater unpaid overtime lawyer as soon as possible to begin pressuring your employer to pay you the wages you have earned.

Many jobs expect their employees to work more than 40 hours a week, but legally, it is considered overtime whenever someone works more than 40 hours in one week. If you have a job that requires you to work 50 hours a week, then every week, 10 of those hours should be paid at a rate of time-and-a-half. Every hour is considered overtime once you break the 40-hour-a-week threshold, and there are ways our Clearwater Fair Labor Standards Act lawyers can help secure the wages that you have worked hard for and deserve.

Approaching Unpaid Overtime Issues

If someone is dealing with unpaid overtime for the first time, they should contact an attorney who specializes in the area because they will be able to walk the potential client through the process. An unpaid overtime lawyer in Clearwater carries more weight with an employer than an employee does, and there is no chance of being taken advantage of when the employee is represented by an attorney. However, an employer may try to take advantage of an employee if they initially ask for unpaid overtime before securing legal representation.

In some cases, employees are terminated simply because they ask for their unpaid overtime pay. The best thing for an employee to do is to consult an attorney right away, who can examine the situation to see if the employee has an unpaid overtime case. If they do, the labor lawyer can send formal correspondence to the employer requesting that they pay the employee the owed overtime wages at that time.

Remember, according to the FLSA, it is unlawful to pay anyone who is a non-exempt employee less than one-and-a-half times their hourly rate if they work more than 40 hours a week for any single overtime hour worked.

Employers Paying Straight Time for Overtime

There are some cases where employers try to negotiate straight time for overtime wages with their employees. However, if someone is a non-exempt employee, FLSA is clear that they should not be paid less than one-and-a-half times their hourly rate for any hours worked over 40 hours a week. Employers should not be able to negotiate with the employee to pay them only straight time for any overtime hours.

Employers Paying Regular Hourly Rates for Hours Worked over 40

An employer should not be able to pay an employee their regular hourly rate for all hours worked over 40 hours a week. The FLSA is clear that when someone is not an exempt employee and they worked overtime, more than 40 hours in one week, they should be paid no less than one-and-a-half times their regular hourly rate.

Employers Paying Half-Time for Overtime

Many times, an employer will try to negotiate a rate with employees for half-pay overtime rates, but according to the FLSA, if any non-exempt employee works more than 40 hours a week, they should not be paid less than one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay.

Overtime Eligibility for Professional Drivers

A driver’s overtime eligibility depends on the circumstances. There are some exemptions for outside sales and certain driver’s exemptions, but if driving is an actual component of a person’s job then it is possible for them to be eligible for overtime. If an individual’s main duty is away from the place of employment and most of what they do is outside sales, they may be exempt from any overtime coverage from FLSA.

Motor Carrier Exemption

The employees work in whole or in part is that of a driver, driver’s helper, loader or mechanic, affecting the safety of the operation of the motor vehicle weighing 10,000 pounds or less in transportation on public highways and interstate or foreign commerce, except the vehicles that are designed or used to transport more than eight passengers including the driver for compensation or designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers including the driver and not used to transport passengers for compensation or used in transporting hazardous material requiring placarding under regulations prescribe by the Secretary of Transportation and the employee performs these duties on a motor vehicle weighing less than 10,000 pounds.

How a Clearwater Unpaid Overtime Lawyer can Help

The first option an individual has is to go to their employer and request to be paid time-and-a-half for the overtime hours that the worked. The individual should let their employer know and put them on notice that the proper hours are not reflected on their time cards or pay sheets.

If the employer does not pay the employee at the time that the request is made, the employee should hire a Clearwater unpaid overtime lawyer. At this point, the employer must now pay all of the attorney’s fees and costs as well as liquidated damages. The employee will get double the amount of money that was not reflected on their pay sheet or check because the employer did not do the right thing, or obey the law and pay them the overtime they deserved.