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Overtime Wages

DALLAS-FORT WORTH TEXAS OVERTIME WAGE ATTORNEY


The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

The FLSA was enacted in 1938 during the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In its final form, the act applied to industries whose combined employment represented only about one-fifth of the labor force.

The FLSA establishes standards for minimum wages, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor. These standards affect more than 130 million workers, both full time and part time, in the private and public sectors. The FLSA is administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

Under the FLSA, covered nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. These workers are entitled to overtime wages at a rate of “time and a half” for all hours worked over forty hours in a regular workweek.

 

Who the Fair Labor Standards Act Covers

The FLSA applies to all employees of certain enterprises, regardless of the duties they perform. If you work for any of the following, you are probably covered for overtime and minimum wage provisions by the FLSA:

  • A Federal, state, or local government agency;
  • A company with an annual dollar volume of sales or receipts totaling $500,000 or more;
  • A pre-school, elementary or secondary school, institution of higher learning, or a school for mentally handicapped, physically handicapped, or gifted children;
  • A hospital or other type of institution where the sick, elderly, mentally ill, or mentally retarded reside;

Employees of companies that do not meet the $500,000 annual dollar volume test may be covered if they are individually engaged in interstate commerce, the production of goods for interstate commerce, or an activity that is closely related and directly essential to the production of such goods.

Day workers, housekeepers, chauffeurs, cooks, and full-time babysitters are usually covered if:

  1. Their cash wages from one employer in calendar year 2007 are at least $1,500;
  2. They work a total of more than 8 hours per week for one or more employers

It is important to note that even if you are covered by the FLSA, you may be exempt from the overtime wage provision if your job duties place you into one of the exemption categories. Examples of employees who may not be covered include those who work for small construction companies or small, independently owned retail or service businesses.

 

The Minimum Wage Provision

The FLSA provides for minimum wage to be paid to most employees. Although most workers must receive at least $7.25 per hour, there are certain exemptions to the minimum provision of the FLSA.

 

Tipped Employees and Minimum Wage

Workers who earn tips, such as waiters and waitresses, must be paid at least $2.13 per hour, as long as:

  1. The worker earns at least $30 per month in tips;
  2. The worker keeps all tips; and
  3. The worker’s direct wage plus tips equal at least the federal minimum wage

Some states have their own rules regarding minimum wage and tipped employees. In these instances, the employee should be paid according to the provisions that provide the greater benefits to them.

If you receive less than minimum wage, then your employer may be in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Contact our DALLAS – FORT WORTH TEXAS EMPLOYMENT OVERTIME WAGE ATTORNEY office today at (817) 768-1819 for a free case evaluation or you may submit your case evaluation online.

 

The Overtime Wage Provision

The Fair Labor Standards Acts provide for eligible employees to be entitled to receive time and a half pay for all hours worked over forty in a workweek.

 

Hours Worked and Eligible for Overtime Pay Under FLSA

  • Suffered or Permitted;
  • Waiting Time controlled by employer (i.e waiting for job tasks or assignments);
  • On-Call Time
    • Employee has to stay on the employer’s premises; or
    • Employee has to stay so close to the employer’s premises that the employee cannot use that time effectively for his or her own purposes;
  • Training Time;
  • Sleep Time;
  • Meal & Rest Periods lasting between five and 20 minutes;
  • Wage Credits;
  • Work finished at home;
  • Travel time on behalf of the company;
  • Time spent in meetings;
  • Time spent preparing, repairing or cleaning equipment

 

Exempt and Nonexempt Employees

Employees who work more than 40 hours per workweek may be eligible to receive overtime wages. To determine whether an employee is eligible for overtime wages, employees must be properly classified as either an “exempt” or “nonexempt” employee. Non-exempt employees are entitled to receive overtime ways for all time they work that exceeds 40 hours per workweek. Exempt employees are not eligible to receive overtime wages because they are just that, exempt.

 

Exemptions Available under the FLSA

1. Executive Exemption: To qualify for the executive employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

  • The employee must be compensated on a salary basis at a rate not less than $455 per week;
  • The employee’s primary duty must be managing the enterprise, or managing a customarily recognized department or subdivision of the enterprise;
  • The employee must have the authority to hire or fire other employees, or the employee’s suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion or any other change of status of other employees must be given particular weight.

2. Administrative Exemption: To qualify for the executive employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

  • The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis at a rate not less than $455 per week;
  • The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers; and
  • The employee’s primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

3. Professional Exemption: To qualify for learned professional employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

  • The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis at a rate not less than $455 per week;
  • The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment;
  • The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and
  • The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction

There are additional exemptions available under the FLSA that are not mentioned or discussed on this website. Contact our DALLAS – FORT WORTH TEXAS EMPLOYMENT OVERTIME WAGE ATTORNEY to further discuss whether you may be exempt under the FLSA. Call us at (817) 768-1819 or submit your case evaluation online.

 

Common Mistakes & Misclassifications

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the misclassification of employees as independent contractors presents one of the most serious problems facing affected workers, employers and the entire economy. Misclassified employees are often denied access to critical benefits and protections they may be entitled to, such as minimum wage, overtime wage compensation, family and medical leave, and safe workplaces.

Employers often misclassify employees as independent contractors.

If you believe you may have been misclassified as an independent contractor, contact our DALLAS – FORT WORTH TEXAS EMPLOYMENT OVERTIME WAGE ATTORNEY at (817) 768-1819 for a free case evaluation or submit your case online.

  • Workers who are often wrongfully denied overtime wages and prone to misclassification:
    • Call center employees;
    • Inside salespeople – If you sit at your desk and make sales, then you are entitled to overtime when you work over forty hours in a workweek, even if you are paid on commission.
    • Bookkeepers;
    • Home Healthcare Aides;
    • Administrative Assistants and Secretaries;
    • Paralegals and Legal Assistants;
    • Hospital Employees;
    • IT Help Desk Employees;
    • Computer maintenance workers
    • Limo Drivers, local drivers, and intrastate drives;
    • Leasing agents, leasing consultants, leasing specialists
    • New home salespeople who sit in a model home all day;
    • Real Estate appraisers;
    • Assistant Managers

 

Damages Available to Plaintiffs Under the FLSA

If a Plaintiff is successful in an overtime wage lawsuit against their former or current employer, the Plaintiff can recover back wages and attorneys’ fees. The Plaintiff may be able to recover liquidated damages if they can prove to the Court the employer failure to pay overtime wages was willful. If the employer can show that they acted in good faith and reasonably believed that their practices did not violate the FLSA, the liquidated damages will not be awarded.

Under the FLSA, Liquidated damages is twice the amount of back wages awarded. For example, if the worker was awarded $10,000 in back wages, then the worker may be eligible for an additional $10,000 in liquidated damages. This is a total of $20,000 awarded to the Plaintiff.

 

Retaliation Under FLSA

The Fair Labor Standards Act makes it unlawful for any person to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee because they filed a complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under the FLSA or has testified or is about to testify in any proceeding arising under the FLSA.

An employer who violates the anti-retaliation provision of the FLSA shall be liable for such legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purpose of the anti-retaliation provision, including without limitation employment, reinstatement, promotion, and the payment of wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.

If you believe you may have been retaliated against by your employer for filing a wage claim complaint, contact our DALLAS – FORT WORTH TEXAS EMPLOYMENT OVERTIME WAGE ATTORNEY at (817) 768-1819 for a free case evaluation or submit your case online.