Tampa Wage and Hour Laws | Fair Labor Standards Act

As an employee, you are entitled to a wage, and depending on whether you are an exempt or non-exempt employee, you are entitled to overtime as well. There are Tampa wage and hour laws in place to ensure that employees are paid what they are owed. If you have been misclassified, and are owed overtime or unpaid wages, get in touch with an adept Tampa wage and hour lawyer. A skilled attorney can collect the necessary evidence and fight to get you the wages you are owed.

Important Information About Tampa Wage and Hour Laws

There are important things that people should know about Tampa wage and hour laws.

If an individual is not making $8.50 an hour, no matter how they split their pay, then they have a minimum wage claim
If an individual is working more than 40 hours in a work week and is not an exempt employee, then they should be getting paid time and a half for any hours over 40, not 80 in a work period and not straight pay for anything over 40. They should be getting time and a half
An individual does not have to pay an attorney upfront to handle their wage and overtime claim. There are attorney’s fees and costs provision in the statute that forces the employer to pay the employee’s attorney’s fees and costs if the employee is successful in a wage and overtime claim
An individual should be aware of what an exempt employee is. There are a lot of different exemptions. Commission sales employees, for example, are exempt from wage and overtime claims. Computer professionals, drivers, managers and executive assistants are sometimes exempt from the FLSA
For the employers, if an individual business is a seasonal or recreational establishment, then those employees are not eligible for FLSA claims. If a business is a recreational or amusement establishment, there is what is called the 33 1/3 % test

The language of the statute refers to receipts for any six months, the monthly average based on total receipts for the six individual months in which the receipts were the smallest should be tested against the monthly average for the six individual months when the receipts were the largest to determine whether this test is met.

What this Tampa wage and hour law is saying is that an individual business owner makes 66% of their gross income as a recreational or amusement establishment within six months and the other six months only equal 33 1/3%, then an individual is exempt from paying employees overtime. So, none of those employees are entitled to overtime. The current minimum wage in Tampa is $8.50 an hour.

Consequences of Being Misclassified By an Employer

There are some different ways to go after misclassification. The first is to prove that an individual actually is not an exempt employee and file a claim for the unpaid minimum wage or overtime that they are owed. By showing that the employer violated Tampa wage and hour laws, the employee can strengthen their case.

The second is to go after punitive damages against the employer for this misclassification if it was done purposely. When someone is talking about wage and overtime claims, if they can show that employer intentionally misclassified the employee, and intentionally did not pay wages, the employee can go back three years and collect all of the unpaid overtime and wages. If it was done negligently, then an individual can only go back two years.

Ways a Lawyer Can Help

The main things attorneys do are gather all the pay stubs and information about the employer, file the complaint, take the depositions necessary and negotiate a settlement that pays an individual what they are owed and any wages that they were not paid properly. An experienced attorney will know about Tampa wage and hour laws and can use their knowledge to build your case.

If you are worried about the costs of retaining a lawyer, know that you do not have to pay a lawyer upfront to represent you as an employee in an FLSA claim. The FLSA statute has attorney’s fees and costs in place that force your employer to pay your attorney’s fees and costs if you succeed in your wage and overtime claim. Contact a Tampa FLSA lawyer who can advocate for you.