Common Wage and Hour Violations
The last several years have reported substantial increases in wage and hour violations. The majority of these claims are based on violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA sets forth numerous regulations protecting workers. These include laws that require workers earn at least the federal minimum wage and non-exempt workers receive overtime compensation generally set at a rate of one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any one work week.
Despite the straightforward sounding nature of these rules, employers often violate these provisions – whether mistakenly or intentionally – depriving workers of all their rightfully earned compensation. Some common pitfalls include employers not providing workers their full meal and rest breaks.
Additionally, employers may violate overtime provisions in one of several common ways. For example, by misclassifying non-exempt workers as exempt, employers deny these workers the opportunity to make any overtime pay. Workers may be considered exempt if they earn more than the salary threshold, currently set at $35,568 annually or $684 per week. (For a discussion of the salary threshold, read New Wage and Hour Laws Take Effect) and fall within one of the specifically delineated exemptions (professional, administrative or executive).
Further, with the shift to increased remote working in the coming weeks and months, employees may be worried about insuring they receive the compensation they deserve and how any new arrangement may affect their take home pay.
For a confidential wage and hour case evaluation, please contact the dedicated Atlanta wage and hour lawyers at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP for a case evaluation.
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