National Overtime Law | Employee Rights

NEWS ALERT! Changes Proposed for Overtime Pay Regulations

On March 13, 2014, President Obama signed a memorandum ordering the Labor Department to create new overtime rules that could make millions of workers eligible for overtime pay.

Employees who are classified as executive or professional under the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act could be eligible for time-and-a-half under the proposed changes. The rules are aimed at salaried workers who make more than $455 per week and those who are ineligible for overtime because they are designated as management; this could include fast food managers, loan officers, computer technicians and many other occupations. It is expected that approximately 3.1 million people may be covered by new overtime requirements.

Changes in the regulations will be subject to public comment before they are approved and a proposed rule is not expected until fall 2014.

Phillips Law Group is currently taking clients throughout the country who have been wronged by their employer. Our skilled national overtime law attorneys have the experience and knowledge to handle claims for workers and employees who were discriminated against or who were not paid overtime.

Today, more than 130 million workers across the nation are affected by the rules and regulations outlined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which is administered by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD). These standards account for the overtime pay, minimum wages, child labor laws, and record keeping that are required by all employers and employees across the nation. Both part-time and full-time workers are entitled to certain rights in the private and public sectors.

Our employee rights lawyers care about you and we will fight for you right to overtime pay!

If these rights have been violated you should contact.Phillips Law Group at 1-800-706-3000 for a free consultation by phone. No fees to start your case and no fees unless we win your case.

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT OVERTIME EXEMPTIONS

• Employees who are paid a salary are exempt. (First of all, exemption decisions are based on the job duties and responsibilities, not on the fact of being paid hourly or by salary. There is a category of employees who are salaried non-exempt. These employees are not paid extra for the hours they work over 40 in a week; however, they are due the overtime premium when they work overtime.)
• If an employee’s job title is that of manager, supervisor, or administrator, he or she is exempt. Title is not determinative; again, the job duties, not the title, determine the exemption.)
• Highly compensated employees are exempt. (Highly-compensated employees are more likely to be exempt, but that is not the determining factor.)
• Employees who are college-educated and perform white-collar office work, he is exempt. (Again, job duties, not education or clothing determine of the exemption.)
• Employees who have advanced degrees are exempt. (Same story.)
• If employees prefer to be paid a salary and do not want to record their time, it is OK to treat them as exempt. (Employees can’t give up their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act. And employers have to maintain their obligations under the Act, including tracking hours worked and paying overtime.)
• If employees who have been classified as exempt don’t work overtime, it doesn’t matter if they are misclassified. (Perhaps their amount of pay won’t be affected, but the employer will still be violating provisions of the FLSA. For example, the recordkeeping requirements of FLSA must be adhered to, and there are other tricky situations relating to meal periods, breaks, time off, and leave that will cause trouble (and cost big money) eventually.

*(From the Compensation Daily Advisor Newsletter)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON NATIONAL OVERTIME LAW

Is my company covered by the FLSA?

According to the Department of Labor, employees who work for businesses have at least two employees, and are:

(1) those that have an annual dollar volume of sales or business done of at least $500,000 or

(2) hospitals, businesses providing medical or nursing care for residents, schools and preschools, and government agencies

Even when there is no enterprise coverage, employees are protected by the FLSA if their work regularly involves them in commerce between States (“interstate commerce”). The FLSA covers individual workers who are “engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.”

Examples of employees who are involved in interstate commerce include those who: produce goods a worker assembling components in a factory or a secretary typing letters in an office that will be sent out of state, regularly make telephone calls to persons located in other States, handle records of interstate transactions, travel to other States on their jobs, and do janitorial work in buildings where goods are produced for shipment outside the State.

Also, domestic service workers (such as housekeepers, full-time babysitters, and cooks) are normally covered by the FLSA.

If these rights have been violated you should contact. Phillips Law Group at 1-800-706-3000 .

Are Independent Contractors owed overtime?

You might have a right to overtime if your employer has classified you as an independent contractor. True independent contractors are not owed overtime. But many workers are miss-classified as independent contractors when they are really employees. Just because your employer tells you that you are an independent contractor doesn’t mean you are an independent contractor. That is determined by Federal Law. The US Supreme Court has outlined several factors in determining if you are an independent contractor or employee. If these rights have been violated you should contactPhillips Law Group at 1-800-706-3000 .

Are salaried employees owed overtime?

If you are paid a fixed salary but are nonexempt under the FLSA, you are owed overtime. Some employers think that they can make you an exempt employee just by paying you a fixed salary, but they cant. Other employers think that if you agree to be paid a fixed salary in exchange for not being paid overtime, then you are an exempt employee but that does not make you exempt from overtime. If these rights have been violated you should contactPhillips Law Group at 1-800-706-3000 .

How many hours is full-time employment?

According to the Department of Labor, The FLSA does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. This is a matter generally to be determined by the employer. Whether an employee is considered full-time or part-time does not change your right to overtime pay if you worked over 40 hours in a workweek. If these rights have been violated you should contact Phillips Law Group at 1-800-706-3000 .

Is extra pay required for weekend or night work?

According to the Department of Labor, extra pay for working weekends or nights is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee (or the employee’s representative). The FLSA does not require extra pay for weekend or night work. However, the FLSA does require that covered, nonexempt workers are paid not less than time and one-half the employee’s regular rate for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek.

Are pay stubs required?

According to the Department of Labor, the FLSA does require that employers keep accurate records of hours worked and wages paid to employees. However, the FLSA does not require an employer to provide employees pay stubs.

If these rights have been violated you should contactPhillips Law Group at 1-800-706-3000 . Free consultation by phone. No fees to start your case and no fees unless we win your case.