Although something of a cliché, “you work hard for the money.” As an employee, you deserve to be paid due overtime wages. Consult a lawyer if you are not getting earned overtime. An unpaid overtime wages lawyer from the Law Offices of Labor Attorneys at (800) 337-7436 is here for you.
There are a number of more common and frequently occurring schemes in which a worker fails to receive appropriate overtime wages. These are:
- Misclassification as an exempt employee
- Misclassification as an independent contractor
- Failure to receive all overtime due and owing
- Week-by-week wage averaging scheme
Misclassification as an Exempt Employee: How a California Unpaid Wages Lawyer Helps You
The Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, defines an exempt employee as being a worker whose level of decision-making authority as well as positional duties and associated responsibilities are such that they are not entitled to overtime pay. In the most basic of terms, these are employees who tend to be in managerial or executive positions within a business enterprise.
Test for FLSA Exemption
The determination of whether or not a particular employee is exempt pursuant to FLSA when it comes to overtime wages is based upon an examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding that workers job position. This examination can include a consideration of a number of factors:
- Amount of money paid to the employee in the form of compensation
- Nature and responsibilities of the worker (as discussed in some detail a moment ago)
- How an employee is paid (hourly wages is indicative of a FLSA worker)
Workers Exempt from FLSA
Employees exempt under FLSA are expected to work whatever hours are necessary. They work as needed to accomplish milestones, goals, and objectives. As an aside, this job typically results in a nonexempt worker having a greater degree scheduling flexibility.
If your employer is not paying you overtime based on a contention you are an exempt employee, but you do not feel that is a correct determination, you can best protect your legal interests by obtaining professional assistance from a seasoned, tireless California unpaid wages lawyer. You can obtain a comprehensive claim evaluation from a California unpaid wages attorney by calling (800) 337-7436.
Misclassification as an Independent Contractor
Another situation in which an employee can be misclassified in a manner that can result in a claim for unpaid overtime wages involves categorizing a worker as an independent contractor. Indeed, there are less that scrupulous companies that attempt to incorrectly categorize individuals who are employees of a business as independent contractors not only to save on overtime costs but to avoid an array of payroll taxes as well.
An independent contractor is an individual a business engages for specific work via a nonemployment contract. The Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, has established a test to ascertain whether or not a person is an employee or an independent contractor.
IRS Independent Contractor Test
The test for an independent contractor includes:
- Individual’s main income source comes from freelance or independent contract work
- Worker completes tasks away from the business’ location and separate from the typical services of the company
- Individual maintains control over services provided to the company
- Person furnishes own tools
- Individual offers a specific skillset to the task at hand
- Worker sets own house to undertake tasks
Only if a worker satisfies these elements is that person an independent contractor. Contact a California unpaid overtime wages lawyer at the Law Offices of Labor Attorneys at (800) 337-7436 if you think you are misclassified.
Failure to Receive All Overtime Due and Owing
Another scenario involves a situation in which a worker receives some but not all of overtime wages due and owing. In fact, situations in which workers only receive a portion of overtime occurs frequently.
Examples of Failure to Pay All Overtime Due
The facts and circumstances surrounding this type of situation are varied. For example, an employer might cap weekly overtime. Nonetheless, a worker keeps working beyond the maximum. If a worker goes over that cap, an employer pays only the amount of overtime up to that limitation.
Assume for the sake of argument that a worker only goes over the cap by an hour or two, the amount of money may seem rather minimal. With that said, if this occurs time and again, the amount of unpaid overtime wages actually can end up being significant. Moreover, multiple workers likely experience this scheme.
Week-by-Week Wage Averaging Scheme
“Week-by-week averaging is another employer scheme to cheat a worker out of overtime. What this means is that if an employer does not pay workers on a weekly basis but rather on biweekly or even monthly, the company engages in an averaging of wages between weeks paid.
For example, if an employee works overtime in one week and doesn’t work a full week in another, an employer averages out the hours worked between the two weeks. This averaging scheme can have the result of reducing or even elimination any accrued overtime.
The Law, Week-by-Week Wage Averaging Scheme, and an Unpaid Overtime Wages Lawyer
The reality is that this is not a lawful way to compute overtime wages. Rather, overtime workers accumulate weekly. Therefore, overtime pay is due each week when an employee works over regular time. The fact that such an employee may not have worked maximum full-time hours in another week is irrelevant and of no legal impact when computing overtime wages.
You need to be proactive in taking steps to protect your right to appropriate overtime compensation. Unpaid overtime adds up quickly. Unpaid overtime can amount to a good deal of money.
Contact a California Unpaid Overtime Wages Lawyer Today
If you find yourself facing an issue involving unpaid overtime wages or with a related issue, the experienced, tenacious legal team at the Law Offices of Labor Attorneys is here for you. You can schedule an initial consultation with a California unpaid overtime wages attorney by calling our firm at (800) 337-7436. Our team will schedule a consultation at our offices at your convenience. We can also arrange for a virtual appointment with a California labor attorney online as well.
We can schedule a no-cost and no-obligation with a California unpaid overtime wages lawyer at your convenience. During an initial consultation, you can learn more about your rights and obtain answers to any questions that you might have about your situation.
