Overtime Lawyer Blog

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides certain basic rights to almost all workers in the United States. You are entitled to earn minimum wage and all non-exempt workers must be paid overtime wages at a rate of one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of forty hours in any work week.

If you have questions about your pay, or feel like you have not been paid all the compensation you deserve, it’s important to consult with an experienced Georgia wage and hour attorney right away. A knowledgeable Atlanta FLSA lawyer can provide you critical advice to ensure you are getting all the pay you should.

What happens if you think your employer is violating the law and you complain to them? Many people believe that if they complain, they might be fired. The good news is that because the government so firmly believes that workers must be paid minimum wages and overtime wages it included “anti-retaliation” provisions in many federal labor laws, including the FLSA. This means that if your employer takes negative actions against you (like firing, failing to promote you or transferring you to a worse location or giving you worse hours), you may be able to file a claim against them. This is true even if it turns out your employer isn’t violating the FLSA – if they take negative actions against you for complaining they may be held responsible and be required to pay you damages.

What does it mean to complain?

This question has gotten a lot of attention around the country lately. In many courts, making an oral complaint may be enough. This means if you tell your employer that you don’t believe that you are getting paid what you deserve under the FLSA or otherwise give your employer “fair notice” that you’re asserting your rights under federal labor law, then you may be able to file a claim for retaliation if your employer takes any negative action against you. The majority of jurisdictions also accept an internal written complaint. This means if you submit a written complaint to your supervisor or employer describing what you think they are doing wrong, this is enough to “assert your rights” under the FLSA and protect you from retaliation.

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The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides certain minimum wage and overtime standards that apply to nearly all U.S. employers. Pursuant to the FLSA, employers must pay workers at least minimum wage ($7.25/hour, although in some states the wage is higher) and pay all non-exempt workers overtime compensation for time worked in excess of 40 hours in any work week. One of the biggest sources of wage lawsuits comes out the definition of “exempt” and how your employer classifies you.

Exempt employees are those who perform a certain type of “white collar” work and make a certain salary each week. If you are considered exempt, then you are not entitled to compensation regardless of the number of hours you work. On the other hand, if the exemptions do not apply to you, then you must be paid time and a half for all overtime hours. As a result whether you are exempt vs. non-exempt is very important and is one of the leading causes of FLSA litigation.

If you have questions about your classification or are concerned that you may have been misclassified, it’s important to consult with a knowledgeable Georgia wage and hour attorney right away. We can begin an evaluation of your work situation and help ensure you are bringing home all the pay you deserve.

It’s important to remember that in addition to requiring employers pay their workers what they deserve, the FLSA also prohibits employers from retaliating against you if you complain that they have violated the law. This means if you tell your employer that you think you’ve been misclassified and should be receiving overtime pay they cannot try to get back at you by firing you or taking other negative actions.

A recent case looked at just what can be considered “retaliation” in the context of a FLSA. In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. an hourly manufacturing and production employee made oral complaints about the location of the time clocks. Shortly after he complained, his company fired him.

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According to a recent federal lawsuit, a worker who kept forgetting to punch in for work but had an excellent attendance record showed could bring a claim for retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., a worker – Kevin Kasten - kept forgetting to clock in and was terminated after he accumulated disciplinary points. Before he was fired, Kasten had orally complained to his employer that it had violated the FLSA by putting the clocks in areas that weren’t easily accessible.

This case received a lot of attention around the country and eventually went to the U.S. Supreme Court where the issue of whether an “oral complaint” was considered a “protected activity” under the anti-retaliation provisions of the FLSA. If an action is considered a “protected activity,” then negative employment actions taken as a result of that activity may be considered violations of federal labor law.

If you have questions about the FLSA or other wage and hour laws, it’s a good idea to speak to an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer right away. The FLSA is an extremely complex statute and it’s important to consult with a knowledgeable Georgia labor law firm with significant experience representing clients in wage and hour cases.

The FLSA provides certain guidelines, including rules concerning minimum wage and overtime pay that apply to nearly every worker in the United States. Failure to comply with these guidelines may be a violation of the FLSA and an employer may be required to pay back wages, damages and even attorneys fees and costs associated with filing a wage and hour lawsuit. The government believes that this law is so important to workers that if a worker complains about an employer violating FLSA provisions and he or she is retaliated against, then the worker may be able to bring a FLSA retaliation lawsuit.

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Companies that retaliate against workers for complaining about pay practices may be violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. Retaliation includes such actions as firing, failing to promote, transferring to a worse location or one of many other negative employment actions.

The Department of Labor has issued a new FLSA retaliation fact sheet concerning illegal retaliation against employees. The fact sheet provides general information relating to the FLSA’s prohibition against retaliation against people who have filed a complaint or cooperated in an investigation.

The prohibited actions apply whether you are an exempt or a non-exempt employee.

The specific provision provides "it is a violation to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, or has served or is about to serve on an industry committee."

Further, based on Supreme Court law complaints don’t have to be written to be the basis of a retaliation action. As long as the complaint is sufficiently clear and detailed – even if it’s verbal – your rights may be protected.

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In a recent court of appeals decision out of the Fourth Circuit, the court determined that while current and former employees are entitled to protection from retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act FLSA, prospective employees are not entitled to the same protection.

In Dellinger v. Science Applications International, the 4th Circuit evaluated a woman’s claim that she had been subject to retaliation. Here, Natalie Dellinger applied for a position at Science Applications International Corporation. Dellinger was offered the job with certain conditions such as passing a drug test and completing a security clearance. After she disclosed her lawsuit against a previous employer based on wage and hour violations, including minimum wage and overtime violations, her job offer was withdrawn.

Dellinger then filed n a lawsuit under the FLSA, alleging that she had been the victim of retaliation. The 4th Circuit denied Dellinger’s claim, finding that the FLSA’s protection against retaliation applies only to current employees, and as a result prospective employees cannot sue potential employers for retaliation. The Court focused on the nature of the “employee/employer” relationship, stating “[T]he anti-retaliation provision was meant to ensure that employees could sue to obtain minimum wages and maximum hours from their employers without the employers taking adverse action against them for the exercise of those rights.”

Although the retaliation provisions of the FLSA were not extended to prospective employees, the court also noted its desire not to enable future employers to discriminate against employees for exercising their rights under the FLSA.

Continue reading "Dellinger v. Science Applications International Determines Retaliation Provision Of Fair Labor Standards Act Applies To Current And Former Employees" »