Overtime Lawyer Blog

Many employees wonder, “If I’m denied overtime, how long do I have to file a lawsuit?”

The general rule regarding the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit under the FLSA, which protects your right to minimum wages and overtime pay, is that you have 2 years to file a suit for back wages, or 3 years where the violation is considered “willful.”

If you are considering filing a lawsuit, an important rule to remember is that a violation of federal wage and overtime law occurs each time you receive a new paycheck that does not include the pay you deserve.

In Figueroa v. District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals relied on this rule to find that a group of police officers could file a lawsuit for overtime even though the decision denying them overtime pay took place more than 3 years before the lawsuit was filed. The court explained, [b]ecause each violation gives rise to a new cause of action, each failure to pay overtime begins a new statute of limitations period as to that particular event.”

Continue reading " Overtime Pay Violations Occur Each Time You Receive A Paycheck Without The Pay You Deserve " »

One of the nation’s largest managed care providers - UnitedHealthcare – has agreed to pay $1M in back wages to workers as the result of claims that they denied nearly 500 workers overtime pay.

A Department of Labor investigation revealed that UnitedHealthCare was misclassifying workers, labeling some employees as “exempt” under federal law and denying them overtime pay.

Misclassification of your employment status is a very common problem among employers, affecting both small companies and large corporations.

Under Federal Law, non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay at a rate of one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a work-week. Determining whether a worker is exempt can be very confusing and frequently leads to claims of under-payment of wages.

Numerous tests exist to determine whether an employee is exempt, but generally if you make more than a certain amount of money in a week and perform certain “white-collar” work you may be exempt and not entitled to overtime, regardless of the number of hours you work in a week.

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Dick’s Sporting Goods has agreed to pay current and former employees $15 million to settle a federal wage and hour lawsuit.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), one of the oldest federal employment laws, most workers are entitled to minimum wage, currently $7.25/hour in most states, and overtime. The overtime laws provide that all employees who are not exempt from the FLSA must be paid at a rate of one and one half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours.

If you believe you have been required to work overtime and have not been overtime compensation, contact an experienced wage and hour lawyer to discuss your options.

The class action lawsuit was the result of alleged pay practices at Dick’s that violated overtime laws.

The alleged violations included:

• Requiring employees to work through their breaks;
• Interrupting employees’ breaks without paying them for additional time worked;
• Requiring employees to work more than 40 hours in a week without paying overtime; and
• Supervisors permitting workers to work more than 40 hours in a week, then requiring them take time off the following week.

The settlement won’t be final until approved by federal court at an upcoming hearing.

Continue reading " Dick’s Sporting Goods Settles Wage And Hour Violation Case For $15 Million " »