Virginia Failure to Pay Overtime Lawyer

You devote much of your life to your work, so it is important to make sure that your employer pays you properly for all your work, including hard-earned premium overtime pay.

If your employer is failing to pay you overtime, a skilled Virginia failure to pay overtime lawyer is available to provide professional guidance about your legal rights. Hiring an experienced lawyer to assist with complex employment cases can be key to understanding your legal rights.

When appropriate, a qualified Virginia employment lawyer could help you pursue your case in court or before government administrative agencies. For personal advice about your legal issues from a lawyer who cares about employment rights, call today.

When is Overtime Pay Required?

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), most employers must pay covered employees overtime pay for any time they work in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Overtime compensation must be at least one and one-half an employee’s regular rate of pay. For hourly workers, this is usually equivalent to the hourly wage. For non-hourly covered employees, calculation of the regular rate can be more complex. Examples of this are employees who are paid a fixed salary, by a commission, or on a piecework basis.

Pay for Unapproved Overtime

Even if an employer has a rule against working unapproved overtime, it must pay the correct rate for all overtime hours worked. In those cases, however, the employer can still take disciplinary action against employees who work unapproved overtime.

Even small overtime violations can add up to significant sums over time. This is all the more so when the same problem affects dozens or even hundreds of employees. A Virginia failure to pay overtime attorney could advise employees about how much unpaid overtime their employer may owe them and whether other monetary compensation may be available.

Overtime Pay for Management and Salaried Employees

In many instances, salaried employees must be paid for overtime. The same is true for many low- and mid-level managers and supervisors. Just because an employer gives someone the title of “manager” (or the like) and/or pays a flat salary does not mean that they are exempt from FLSA’s overtime provisions.

Job titles and how wages are paid do not determine whether an employee is exempt from overtime. Rather, the focus is on actual job duties. Extensive rules and regulations determine whether a particular exemption applies, and an employer cannot determine on its own that an employee is exempt simply by paying them a salary and assigning a job title that sounds exempt such as “Assistant Manager” or “Executive Assistant.” An experienced attorney could advise about how these laws and regulations may apply to particular jobs and whether an employer may be liable for wage and hour violations.

Damages and Time Limits in Failure to Pay Overtime Cases

In many instances, compensable damages in failure to pay overtime cases can be significant. FLSA allows employees who prove an overtime case to recover for their out-of-pocket economic losses. When there is also evidence that an employer violated the law willfully, that amount may be doubled through what are known as “liquidated damages.” The law also allows employees to recover their attorney’s fees and court costs when they prevail in a case.

Like all legal claims, time limits apply. An aggrieved employee must file their FLSA claim within two years of any alleged violation and can recover damages for violations that occurred during the two years before filing as well as any that happen after filing. In cases where there is evidence of a willful FLSA overtime violation, the time limit expands to three years. A skilled failure to pay overtime lawyer in Virginia could help employees calculate the amount of unpaid overtime given the facts of a particular case.

When there is evidence of a widespread problem, the employer may owe significant sums to many people. In such a case, FLSA allows a single employee to file a “collective action” on their own behalf as well for others similarly situated. There can be advantages to this approach and a lawyer could advise about whether filing a collective action may be justified.

Get Help from a Virginia Failure to Pay Overtime Attorney 

The clock is ticking. If you believe your current or former employer owes you unpaid overtime, you should get professional guidance from an experienced employment lawyer as soon as possible.

An experienced Virginia failure to pay overtime lawyer could help you understand your potential claims, estimate the damages you may be able to recover, and suggest actions you could take to recover compensation for unpaid overtime. Contact the offices today to learn more about how a legal professional could help with your overtime and any other employment concerns.