Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are required to pay all overtime-eligible (non-exempt) employees overtime at a rate of one-and-a-half times employees’ regular rate of pay for all overtime hours worked (absent limited exceptions). Frequently, employers fail to do so in a myriad of ways: by making employees work off-the-clock, by interrupting their meal periods, by improperly rounding their time punches or by manually adjusting their time entries. While doing this may result in employers saving a little money in the short term by cheating employees out of their rightfully earned wages, this practice can ultimately become costly.
The reason failing to pay overtime wages can become so costly is because the FLSA provides for “liquidated damages.” Liquidated damages are equal to the amount of back overtime wages owed. An employer can only avoid paying liquidated damages if it can prove that its failure to pay overtime wages was made in “good faith.” Because this is a difficult burden to meet, if an employer is found to have wrongfully deprived its employees of overtime pay, it may be responsible for double back pay to the employee. The double damages policy is designed to be severe by nature in order to hopefully discourage employers from breaking the law when it comes to overtime wages.
If you believe that you were wrongfully denied overtime pay, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or at (800) 616-4000 for a free evaluation of your claim.
YOU EARNED IT, NOW LETS GO GET IT.
Gregg Shavitz, Shavitz Law Group, 951 Yamato Rd Ste 285, Boca Raton, FL and 800 3rd Ave, Suite 2800, New York, NY. Lawyers licensed in states including FL, NY, NJ, and TX. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based on advertisements alone.
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