FAQs About Unpaid Overtime Settlements Answered

Employers and businesses are obligated by law to pay employees a regular wage for all normal work hours. Employees who put in more time than usual must receive overtime pay.

Unfortunately, not all companies and enterprises act in the best interests of their employees. You might be able to submit a court claim to get the money you are entitled to if your company owes you unpaid overtime.

Employees can frequently seek unpaid overtime compensation, unpaid pay, and interest on the amount that was withheld. The legislation occasionally imposes extra fines on firms for underpaid salaries.

You shouldn’t be forced to forgo the pay you are due for the time you have put in.

The article answers frequently asked questions about unpaid overtime settlements.

Are Wage Increases for Overtime Mandated By Law For Employers?

Yes. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), all overtime hours must be compensated at 1.5 times your regular hourly rate by your employer. There may also be overtime regulations in your state. You may be entitled to compensation through a wage and hour claim if your employer fails to pay you overtime earnings for all of the overtime you work.

What is Overtime?

Any hours clocked in a work week that exceeds 40. There are seven consecutive days in a work week. Which day of the week kicks off the work-week is up to your company. For example, two hours of overtime are worked in a work week that is 42 hours long.

Your work hours cannot be averaged across several weeks by your employer. Consider a scenario in which you worked 30 hours one week and 50 hours the following week. In a situation like this, your employer would have to provide overtime pay for the extra ten hours you worked.

In other words, you would still be due overtime compensation even though you would have worked an average of 40 hours each week.

What if My Pay Period is Two Weeks Long?

The basis for calculating overtime is a work week, or a period of one week. Your pay period has no bearing on this. Your employer is not permitted to divide your weekly hours across two weeks. You are still entitled to overtime compensation even if you work fewer than 80 hours over the course of two weeks but more than 40 hours in one of those weeks. For example, if you work 50 hours one week but just 5 hours the following week, your employer owes you 10 hours of overtime compensation.

Is Everyone Entitled to Overtime?

Most workers are qualified for overtime. There are certain employees who are exempt. The criteria for overtime exemptions are highly tight, depending on your actual job responsibilities rather than your job title, and it is up to your employer to demonstrate that you are really exempt.

What Are a Few Typical Exceptions?

Each exception is subject to a very precise set of requirements. You cannot infer from an exemption’s name that you qualify for it. Based on your employment responsibilities, the skilled wage and hour attorneys may assist you in determining if you should be classed as exempt.

My Boss Claims That Because I Did Not Previously Obtain Authorization, He Will Not Pay Me For The Overtime. Can He Accomplish That?

No. Your employer is in charge of monitoring and managing your hours. If your employer knows or should have known that you were working overtime hours, they are obligated to pay you for those extra hours.