Overtime Lawyer Blog

News reports that Huddle House franchises in Georgia and throughout the United States were found in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and were required to pay significant back wages. Sources indicate that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour division determined that the restaurants had “significant” violations of labor laws in Georgia, Missouri and West Virginia. Huddle House is now required to pay minimum and overtime back wages to current and former employees, as well as civil penalties.

Federal overtime and wage and hour law pursuant to the FLSA provides that employees must earn minimum wage and that employees who are not exempt must be paid overtime at a rate of one and one-half their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any workweek. Even though this sounds straightforward, many employers either inadvertently or deliberately fail to pay employees the wages they are due. As a result unpaid overtime is one of the greatest sources of employee complaints. If you believe your employer has failed to pay you the minimum wages or overtime you are entitled to, an experienced wage and hour lawyer can provide you critical advice concerning your next steps.

Here, the alleged violations included the failure of Huddle House to meet the federal minimum wage. Employees were not paid minimum wage for several different reasons including:

• For tipped employees, wages plus tips earned for all hours worked amounted to less that $7.25/hour;

• Tipped employees were required to share tips with non-tipped employees, lowering the wages to less than minimum wage; and

• Some non-tipped employees such as cooks were paid at a rate lower than minimum wage.

Continue reading " Georgia Franchise Ordered To Pay Back Wages " »

Determining whether a worker is an independent contractor, an employee or an employee who is “exempt” can be a complex determination – and one that can make a significant impact on the amount a worker makes in overtime pay. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) employees who are not exempt must be paid overtime wages at a rate of one and one-half their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. However, if you are an independent contractor or are considered “exempt” your employer isn’t required to pay overtime compensation.

To determine whether a worker is an independent contractor, it is important to look at the entire relationship and evaluate the degree or extent of an employers right to direct and control the worker. The more control and employer has over a worker, the more likely that worker is to be considered an employee. Likewise, whether an employee is exempt is not always straightforward and several factors must be evaluated. Generally, if you make more than a certain amount of money per week and if you perform a certain type of “white collar” work, then you are exempt from overtime laws and your employer isn’t required by law to pay you overtime, no matter how many hours worked.

Although employers may unintentionally “misclassify” workers and fail to pay them the wages due, other times employers may willfully place employees in the wrong category. According to one report, the economic slowdown has “exacerbated worker misclassification” in order to circumvent fair labor standards, health and safety protections, and unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits. Either way, workers may be deprived all of the wages they are entitled to.

Continue reading " Violations Of Overtime Laws On The Rise " »

A recent case out of New York determined that where the president and CEO of a popular grocery chain failed to pay employees the back wages they were due, he was personally liable for millions of dollars in unpaid overtime compensation.

In Torres v. Gristede’s Operating Corp., mid-level managers at a chain of New York area grocery stores were misclassified as “exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and were denied overtime for several years. The FLSA provides that all non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay in the amount of one and one-half times your hourly rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in any workweek. Although this sounds like a simple rule, one of the most common violations of federal wage and hour law is employers intentionally or inadvertently misclassifying workers as exempt. A knowledgeable overtime compensation attorney can provide crucial advice concerning whether you have been properly classified.

Here, a court determined that the managers were not exempt as previously classified and were entitled to back wages. However the CEO failed to pay the workers the amount due pursuant to the settlement agreement, claiming that he wasn’t the employer. The New York court rejected the CEO’s argument, noting that both federal and state law define “employer” as including “any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to any employee.” Further, because the CEO had control over opening and closing stores, as well as the power to hire and fire, he was considered an employer – despite the fact that he delegated these duties to others.

Continue reading " President And CEO Personally Liable For Wage And Hour Violations In Torres v. Gristede’s Operating Corp. " »

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sounds fairly straightforward. Pursuant to its rules, just about every employee in the United States who works for a wage is entitled to minimum wage and if they are not exempt, overtime compensation. Overtime is to be paid at a rate of one and one-half times your hourly rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. However, wage and hour laws are far from straightforward, and employers often violate these provisions when they classify those who work for them – employee or independent contractors, exempt or non-exempt.

In a recent back wages case out of Ohio, a group of employees sued Cascom, Inc., after being denied overtime pay because they were misclassified as independent contractors. Cascom provides residential cable television, Internet and telephone installation services. The workers are seeking to recover more than $1.6 million in back wages and damages. The overtime lawsuit was filed by the Labor Department after an investigation by the local Wage and Hour Division determined that the company was violating the FLSA.

Although no one factor determines if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor, one of the most significant factors is whether the person for whom services are performed has control or the right to control the worker both as to the work to be done and the manner and means in which it is performed. In most situations, if the person you are working for has control over your work, then you are considered an employee.

As stated by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, “The misclassification of employees as independent contractors is an alarming trend. The practice is a serious threat to both workers, who are entitled to good and safe jobs, and to employers who obey the law and are undercut when others use illegal practices.”

Continue reading " Misclassification As Independent Contractor May Be A Violation Of The Fair Labor Standards Act " »