Overtime Law : Overtime Law Attorneys, and Overtime Law Lawyers.

According to The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are required to pay non-exempt employees an overtime pay equal to 1.5 times their regular hourly pay for any overtime hours they had to work over forty (40) hours in a week. (overtime). While the law allows an employer to require that his/her employees work overtime hours, it also mandates that the employers’ give the employee overtime pay. FLSA entitles employees to over time pay if they have to work longer than eight (8) hours a day, or have to put in more than five (5) days a week. The law further allows for up to two (2) years to collect any unpaid overtime pay, and up to three (3) years if the employer was knowingly violating the overtime law. If it can be demonstrated that an employer was willfully violating the over time law, (s)he can be required to additionally pay the employee the liquidated damages equal to an amount of money originally so owed.

It must be noted, however, that the FLSA overtime regulations applies only to the covered employers -i.e. only the companies whose gross annual income exceed $500,000 regardless of number of employees employed by such companies.

• Exempt Employees are employees that are not covered by the overtime law. Usually most highly paid employees such as business executives, managers, and career professionals are not entitled to overtime pay. Additionally, certain categories of employees such as computer programmers, restaurant workers/servers, and sales persons are usually exempt from overtime protection, and are not entitled to overtime pay.
• Non-Exempt Employees are employees that are covered by the overtime law. Employees that are paid by the hour (not by salary) are automatically deemed to be non-exempt employees, and are therefore entitled to overtime pay -if they are asked to work either more than eight (8) hours on a given day, or longer than forty (40) hours in a given week.

It must be noted, however, that not everyone whose job title includes the word manager, or receives a fixed salary, or who is supposedly an independent contractor may actually be exempt from overtime protection. It is not uncommon, unfortunately, for some employers to either mistakenly or intentionally deprive an employee of overtime pay. Considering the complexity of the overtime law, if you are in doubt, you are better off speaking with an overtime attorney. If your employer retaliates against you in any way simply because you asked about the overtime pay, or sought professional/legal advice from an overtime attorney, you may be entitled to an overtime retaliation claim against your employer. Any such retaliation by your employer entitles you to compensation over and above what he may have originally owed you in unpaid overtime pay.

If you have any questions regarding your exempt/non-exempt status, have been wrongfully denied overtime pay, or if you have been retaliated against after having raised an overtime related issue with your employer, you should seriously consider consulting with a local attorney (an overtime lawyer or an employment attorney) well versed in overtime/employment law.

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