Workers depend on the pay they receive from their employers to pay for everything. When an employer fails to pay what is rightly owed to an employee, they are harming that employee. If you have been slighted by an employer who owes you overtime pay, you need to reach out to an attorney who could help. A Chattanooga overtime violation lawyer could assess your claim and, if necessary, take action against to return your back-pay to you.
Employer/Employee Misconceptions of Overtime Hours
There are two misconceptions held by many with regards to overtime hours. The first is whether or not an employer can require an employee to work as many overtime hours as it wishes. This is in fact true. An employer can require its employees to work as many overtime hours as it wants in a single pay period so long as it pays time-and-a-half to those employees.
The second misconception stems from overtime being a condition of employment. Employers are allowed to require overtime as a condition of employment. However, if an employee has a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and a doctor has certified that he or she is unable to work more than 40 hours, then it might be illegal for the employer to mandate overtime. This is because providing the decreased work schedule might qualify as the reasonable accommodation under the ADA.
Common Examples of Overtime Violations in Chattanooga
Some common examples of overtime violations involve employers not paying overtime at all. Sometimes, employers just determine that it is not a policy they are going to follow and that decision might be an illegal overtime violation. Other times, employers might pay at the wrong rate. Any pay that is earned through overtime and not delivered to the worker constitutes an overtime violation. In some cases, employers pay employees for what they worked, but not the additional half owed per hour worked. This is rarely going to be a legal way to pay employees.
Additionally, and in rare cases, employers might pay an employee’s salary when that person is not allowed to be paid salary under the law and must be paid an overtime rate.
Examples of Overtime Exempt Positions
Most of the time, employees who are exempt from overtime are salaried employees who work in particular types of jobs. Those who are exempt are frequently management employees, administrative employees, or professional employees. Some salespeople are also exempt from overtime requirements because of their commissions or the unique aspects of their jobs. Surprisingly, most truck drivers are also exempt from overtime. It really depends on the specifics of the particular employee.
How Employees Could Challenge Overtime Wage Violations
An employee who believes they might have an overtime violation could challenge it informally or formally. An employee is free to ask questions to the employer which means they go to their boss or human resources and inquire as to why they are not being paid overtime. When an employee files a complaint with the employer for overtime violations, they are protected and cannot be retaliated against for asking those questions and making those complaints.
However, an employee has questions, he or she should probably contact the United States Department of Labor which oversees wage laws and violations thereof. They should also contact an attorney as quickly as possible to help them in determining whether they might have a valid overtime claim against the employer. A Chattanooga overtime wage violation attorney could be of help in these cases.
Possible Reimbursement from a Successful Overtime Violation Case
In a typical successful overtime violation case, the employee could receive up to three years of back pay for the overtime that they should have been paid plus liquidated damages of the same amount. Employees could recover double what they should have been paid in the first place. Plus, in a successful case, and if an employee has an attorney, the employer will likely be required to pay the attorney so that the employee might attain a full recovery.
Contact a Wage Violation Attorney Today
When an employer breaks the trust that you have in them by not paying you your rightfully earned overtime wage, you need to consider taking action against that party. With the help of a Chattanooga overtime violation lawyer, you could do just that. Do not wait, contact one today.
