What You Need to Know About Suing an Employer for Unpaid Overtime
Unpaid overtime, known as wage theft, is against the law because it violates workers’ rights. Here’s how to sue for an employer for unpaid overtime.
Federal overtime provisions outline which employees are eligible for overtime and what requirements they must meet. Every state has different laws and processes regulating lawsuits against employers for not paying overtime.
What is Unpaid Overtime?
Overtime is additional hours an employee works in addition to their scheduled hours for that work period. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) outlines federal overtime provisions for a workweek. States can also calculate daily overtime and include that in state laws.
Unpaid overtime is when an employer does not correctly compensate their employee(s) or abide by the FLSA. Unpaid overtime is also known as wage theft. Employees can pursue legal action against their employers to receive overtime compensation. Each state has guidelines outlining the legal process of suing for overtime.
Related: Can An Employer Deny Vacation Time in California?
Employee’s Overtime Rights
The Fair Labor Standards Act states employers must pay employees who work over 40 hours a week. Overtime pay must start at a time-and-a-half, an employee’s regular hourly rate.
The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to pay overtime on weekends or holidays unless an employee works overtime during one of those days. The act allows employers to pay their employees bonuses or other financial incentives to meet the standard salary threshold of $684 per week.
Only businesses that meet the FLSA’s standards (earn over $500,000 a year in sales or conduct business between states) follow the overtime conditions that the FLSA outlines. If a business does not meet those standards, employers may not have to follow overtime provisions. An exception to this is if their state has laws regulating overtime.
Under the FLSA, the following employees are not eligible for overtime:
- Salaried executive, administrative, and professional employees,
- Independent contractors,
- Traveling salespeople,
- Computer specialists who earn at least $27.63 per hour,
- Seasonal amusement or recreational businesses employees,
- Newspaper delivery employees,
- Seamen or workers in fish operating industries.
- Employees who work on small farms,
- Criminal investigators, and
- Casual domestic babysitters.
Related: Employer Retaliation After Resignation in California
How to Sue for Unpaid Overtime
Employees who believe their employer has not paid overtime should contact an employment attorney. Employment attorneys specialize in workers’ rights and are familiar with federal and state laws regarding overtime. An attorney will assess whether an employee meets FLSA eligibility provisions for overtime.
If an attorney believes that an employee is eligible under FLSA, they can assist the employee in filing a lawsuit. The statute of limitations for recovering unpaid overtime varies by state but is at least two years from when the employer filed the suit.
Employment attorneys can also help calculate daily overtime if such provisions exist in a state’s laws. Alaska, California, Nevada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have overtime provisions for employees who work more than eight hours a day. Colorado has overtime for employees that work more than 12 hours a day. Oregon has daily overtime for manufacturing employees that work more than 10 hours.
Employees can file two types of lawsuits for unpaid overtime: an individual case and a class-action lawsuit. An individual lawsuit is when one employee files a suit to recover unpaid overtime from their employer. A class-action lawsuit involves multiple employees bringing a case against an employer. Other employees can join the last lawsuit once others have filed.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one would like to learn more about how to sue an employer for unpaid overtime, get your free consultation with one of our most qualified attorneys today!