Overtime Lawyer Blog

Recently, several news stories have reported that the government is cracking down on businesses such as restaurants and factories that fail to pay employees minimum wage and overtime. Under federal law, most businesses must pay workers at least the federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour. Employers must also pay all non-exempt employees overtime, calculated at a rate of one and one-half times your rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.

Recently, three Seattle-area restaurants settled a lawsuit brought by the Department of Labor after an investigation found several federal pay-roll violations. The restaurants agreed to pay more than $420,000 in back wages and damages to 83 employees.

Payroll abuses at the restaurants included:

• Paying some workers only $10/day;
• Paying kitchen workers on a salary regardless of number of hours worked; and
• Paying employees in cash.

As a result of the investigation and lawsuit, the restaurants have agreed to keep accurate time and payroll records.

Continue reading " Back Wages Allowed For Restaurant Workers " »

Two waiters at a Hard Rock Café in Florida have just filed a tip pooling lawsuit against the company, claiming Hard Rock didn’t pay them minimum wage. They are seeking class-action status for the case based on the number of potential servers affected. The waiters and waitresses assert that the “tip pooling” policy at the restaurant required servers and bartenders to share their tips with kitchen staff, denying them fair wages.

Tipping practices are often confusing and may form the basis of a federal or state lawsuit.

Some common questions about tips include:

Who is a tipped employee?

“Tipped employees” are generally considered those who take home $30 or more in tips each month.

How much does my employer have to pay me in addition my tips?

Employers can pay as low as $2.13 an hour in “direct wages,” but the total wage including tip must meet the minimum wage. If the total amount you make doesn’t equal minimum wage, then your employer has to make up the difference.

Who owns my tips?

You do. Workers must be allowed to take home all of their tips – you can’t be required to share your wages except as a part of a valid “pooling” arrangement.

Continue reading " Waiters File Minimum Wage Lawsuit Against Hard Rock Cafe " »

If you’ve been fired and receive severance pay, can you still get paid for back wages?

Three judges in a Mississippi wage and hour case concluded “yes.” Why? Because severance is not the same as wages. Severance is pay given to an employee that is fired and is considered “additional pay” on top of wages. In a Mississippi case, a woman – Karen Martin - was fired from her job with PepsiAmerica and was offered a severance package with benefits. The package came with a hitch – in order to get severance pay, Martin had to agree not to sue the company based on its firing her or any other actions that occurred during her employment. Martin agreed and received the severance money.

After later finding out that Pepsi owed her back wages under Federal labor law for overtime hours, Martin sued Pepsi. Pepsi then sued back, arguing that any overtime pay Martin received should be reduced by the amount of severance they paid her. The New Orleans court disagreed, stating that severance is completely separate from wages.

Continue reading " Fired Employee Entitled To Overtime Pay " »

Truck drivers around the country will soon be receiving money in back wages. Cemex Inc. just agreed to a settlement with the Department of Labor (DOL) for $1.5 million. According to a lawsuit that covered over 1700 drivers in 8 states including Georgia, California, Arizona, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Mexico, Texas and Florida, the corporation violated Federal Labor Laws requiring them to pay their drivers overtime. The drivers will receive an average of $888/person.

Many of the Cemex drivers were paid per load delivered, receiving the same amount of pay regardless of number of hours worked. By law, if the truck drivers worked more than 40 per week in making those deliveries, they are entitled to overtime pay.

For two years, Cemex failed to pay the drivers for the extra hours worked. The company agreed to pay the drivers back wages as part of the settlement, but did not admit to doing anything wrong.

Continue reading " Cement Company Required To Pay $1.5 Million In Back Wages " »