Common Wage and Hour Concerns
Employees have several common wage and hour questions, and while some variations exist, it is important to have a basic understanding of your rights. If you have questions, consulting with an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer is encouraged to protect your rights to compensation.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), provides numerous protections, including ensuring that workers be paid at least minimum wage and that non-exempt workers earn overtime compensation at a rate of one and one-half times their standard rate of pay for all time worked in excess of 40 hours in one work week. However, many complications arise. For example, if you receive a salary, does that mean you are not entitled to overtime pay? The answer depends. Whether you are entitled to overtime depends more on your duties and whether you are exempt, rather than if you are paid a salary.
Other common questions concern rest and lunch breaks. For example, is your employer required to allow you to take rest break and lunch breaks? What happens if an employee is required to work through these breaks? In general, non-exempt workers are entitled to paid rest breaks. Further, if workers are required to work through rest or lunch break, your employer may be violating provisions of the FLSA and may owe you back wages and overtime compensation.
Employees also wonder if they work more than 8 hours in a day but less than 40 hours in a week, are they entitled to overtime pay for the time worked over 8? This is often a case-by-case determination and may depend on your particular job. Questions concerning holiday work, and overtime pay may also be job specific.
Other questions concern pay requirements for independent contractors and whether employers can avoid the requirements of the FLSA by qualifying workers independent contractors rather than employees. Who may be considered an employee vs. an independent contractor is strictly spelled out by federal labor laws. Misclassifying workers as independent contractors or exempt employees when they are truly non-exempt employees and entitled to protections including overtime pay is one of the biggest violations of the FLSA that employers make.
If you have any wage and hour questions or have concerns that your employer is not paying you all the compensation you deserve, please contact the dedicated Atlanta wage and hour lawyers at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP for an immediate case evaluation.