Cleveland, TN FLSA Lawyer
Passed in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act set out a minimum standard for labor law in the United States. At the time the law passed, its most prominent accomplishment involved ending all child labor. Since the law originally passed, it has been updated and modified to reflect the modern economy and labor force.
While the FLSA no longer offers the protections meant for the dangerous manufacturing age, employers still routinely violate worker’s rights under the law. When this happens, an employer can be held liable for the damages caused to its employee. To learn more about the Act, a Cleveland FLSA lawyer may be able to answer any questions about the law or how it applies to your specific case. Read on to learn more about how a dedicated attorney could offer you their assistance today.
Employee Classification under the FLSA
There are three main types of employees that are exempt from the FLSA – executive employees, administrative employees, and highly compensated employees.
For these first two classes, executive employees and administrative employees, they are only exempt from the FLSA regulations if they earn a minimum of $23,660 annually and if their job duties require them to use their own independent judgment and exercise discretion. These are the types of employees who are responsible for the operation of the business or corporation.
A highly compensated employee is an employee who receives over $100,000 each year in an annual compensation and regularly performs at least one of the duties of an executive or administrative employee.
For various reasons, employees in other industries can also be exempt from the FLSA, including learned professionals, independent contractors, agricultural workers, movie theater employees, railroad workers, and truck drivers. Know that a skilled Cleveland FLSA lawyer can assist individuals in knowing their rights based on their employee classification.
Minimum Wage in Cleveland
For nonexempt employees, the FLSA provides these workers with several legal rights. First, and most importantly, an employee must be paid either the federal minimum wage or the state minimum wage, whichever is higher. As of 2018, the federal minimum is $7.25 an hour. Because Tennessee does not have its own minimum wage, the federal standard applies in Cleveland.
Overtime Laws
Nonexempt employees are also entitled to overtime pay whenever they work more than 40 hours in a calendar week. Overtime pay must be time-and-a-half or 150 percent of the employee’s hourly wage.
For an employee making minimum wage in Cleveland, this means that a non-exempt employee should be compensated with an hourly wage of 10.88 for each hour worked over 40 in a single calendar week. In some cases, employers may try to avoid paying their employees the overtime they are legally entitled to receive.
Commonly, employers will try to avoid paying overtime by forcing their employees to work while off the clock, this can include answering emails or phone calls while not working or closing a store or business after clocking out.
Other ways employers can avoid paying overtime include misclassifying the employees as exempt from FLSA regulations and requiring employees to attain approval for any overtime hours worked.
Speak with a Cleveland, TN FLSA Attorney Today
The FLSA provides important protections to employees. When employers violate these protections, employees may suffer unfair consequences. However, they also have legal recourse. If you or a loved one believe your rights under the FLSA were violated, you may have a legal recourse through the Cleveland courts. If you want to learn more about the FLSA or how it may apply to your employment situation, contact a Cleveland FLSA lawyer today.
