|
|
|
Many employees are
entitled to overtime pay and they are not even aware of it.
Most employees think they are not entitled to overtime
pay because they are paid a salary. But this is
completely incorrect. The question is not whether
an employee is on salary, but whether they are “exempt.”
While being paid a salary is one of the requirements for
being exempt from being paid an overtime wage, it is far from
the end of the inquiry. A lot of employees thing
they do not get overtime pay due to misinformation being
passed around for many many years. One of the more
common misconceptions is that employees that work with
computers or in the “IT” department are exempt from
overtime pay, but this is completely untrue.
While certain computer employees are exempt, not all of
them are. Even some employees that think they
obliviously should not get overtime are mistaken.
How is an employee to know? The best way is to
contact an attorney knowledgeable with overtime wage
laws. Overtime pay issues can be some of the most
complicated out there, but this also means that many
employees are being denied overtime because the company
does not understand the overtime laws. However the
law places a heavy burden on companies to know the law
including them having to pay an employee double overtime
wages if the company is not complying with the law.
This sometimes means a company having to pay employees
double overtime wages for previous years the employee
was not paid.
Most people
think of the Fair Labor Standards Act when they think of overtime law. But
overtime laws come from both Federal and State laws. Some states put a limit on
the number of hours an employee can work during a week, but not Nevada. An
employee can file a lawsuit under both Federal and State laws if each one offers a different
benefit to the employee. The Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA is a Federal law that
requires an employee to be paid 50% greater wages for any hours worked greater
than 40 a week. If the actual hours worked are not known, then they are allowed
to be approximated. While most companies are covered by the FLSA, not
all will be and then an employee will need to use state laws to seek overtime
pay.
One of the critical factors in an
overtime lawsuit is when it is filed. The Fair Labor Standards Act has two different statute
of limitations depending on how the company implemented its overtime policies.
To be safe, the shorter statute of limitations of 2 years should be used. This
does not always mean that an employee can recover wages if they file within 2
years. It only means that any wages owed during the 2 years up to the date of
the lawsuit may be collected. So if an employee stops working for a company and
files a lawsuit 2 years after leaving the company, the employee will not be able
to collect anything since the employee did not work during the previous 2 years
and obviously did not work any hours greater than 40 during those two years. So
if an employee quits or is fired, they need to immediately file their lawsuit if
they have not been paid overtime. Of course this should be done even if the
employee is still working there too. State laws should also be considered since
they may use longer statute of limitations.
Reno overtime attorneys and lawyers.
|
|