LinkedIn Settles Wage and Hour Lawsuit
The professional networking site LinkedIn has just agreed to pay $6 million in back wages and damages in a wage and hour lawsuit. More than 350 current and former employees sued the company alleging that it failed to pay workers the overtime compensation they deserved. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), all non-exempt workers that work more than 40 hours in any one work week are entitled to be paid overtime compensation at a rate of one and one-half times their standard rate of pay.
If you have any wage and hour questions or believe that you have not received all the pay you deserve, it’s important to consult with an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer right away.
In this instance, the employees alleged that their employment status was mischaracterized. Mischaracterization of employees as exempt v. non-exempt is one of the more common way employers violate the FLSA. Workers who are accidentally or intentionally mischaracterized as “exempt” may fail to receive the overtime compensation they are legally entitled to. Exemptions typically cover certain white collar workers and generally fall into one of three categories – administrative, executive or professional. Additionally, many computer-system analysts, computer programmers and software engineers are also exempt from overtime requirements.
If you are exempt, then you will not receive overtime compensation, regardless of the number of hours worked. On the other hand, non-exempt employees earn overtime pay at a rate of one and one-half their standard rate of pay for every hour worked in excess of 40 in any work week. As a result, whether you receive overtime compensation can have a great effect on your take home pay.
For more information or if you have questions or concerns about your classification as exempt v. non-exempt and your right to overtime compensation, please contact the experienced Atlanta wage and hour attorneys at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP for an immediate, confidential case evaluation.