Unpaid Wages & Overtime Disputes
St. Louis Attorneys Serving Jefferson, St. Charles & St. Louis Counties – Call 314-528-9661
Riggan Law Firm, LLC represents individuals and groups who have been deprived of legally mandated minimum wage and/or overtime pay. Despite the fact that the federal minimum wage and overtime law was passed in the 1930s, many employers run afoul of the law, either intentionally because they do not want to follow the rules and pay the required compensation or unintentionally because they do not understand the law. Our employment law attorneys can help you stand up for your rights and demand justice.
Why Call Our Employment Law Firm?
- 30+ Years of Combined Experience
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If you have been denied the wages or overtime pay to which you’re entitled by law, contact our St. Louis, MO team at 314-528-9661 as soon as possible.
Understanding Exemptions
In general, the law requires that most employees in the private and public sectors be paid at least the federal minimum wage as well as overtime pay at 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay for every hour of work per week over 40 hours.
There are several exceptions (called “exemptions”) to this general rule. The most common exemptions are for certain executive, administrative, and professional employees, including teachers and academic administrative employees in elementary and secondary schools; however, there are many specific jobs and industries that are exempt from the general requirement that an employer must pay minimum wage and/or overtime.
A good way to remember these rules is that if you perform manual labor and/or are an “hourly” employee (meaning that you are required to clock-in or otherwise keep track of your hours), and your pay fluctuates based on a differential in your hours worked), then you are probably entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay.
Below are some common violations committed by employers:
- An employee is “re-classified,” and the employer suddenly begins paying overtime, despite no change in the employee’s job duties. This action is usually taken because the employer figures out that the company was previously violating the law and has corrected the violation without compensating the employee retroactively for the violations that preceded the correction.
- Some employers erroneously believe that an employee is “exempt” and not entitled to overtime merely because the employee receives a flat salary; however, the employee’s job duties may qualify for a different pay assessment.
- If you are labeled as an “independent contractor” but the employer still exercises significant control over your activities, then the employer may have misclassified your employment status and deprived you of legally mandated minimum wage and/or overtime pay for employees.
- If you are an hourly employee who is paid on a “straight time” basis (i.e., flat weekly or monthly amount without regard to the number of hours worked), the employer may have violated the law.
- You are asked to spend time engaging in work for which you are not paid (i.e., duties performed before clocking in or after clocking out, such as preparation, clean up, putting on or taking off safety gear, work performed during breaks, and traveling between work sites after the start of but before the end of the business day). Such time may also include time during which you are not actively working but are “on call” and also time you spend attending mandatory work meetings or training.
- Your employer fails to compensate you for overtime that was not “pre-approved.” The law requires eligible employees to be paid overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek if the employer knew or should have known that you worked the overtime. Employees may be disciplined if they work unauthorized overtime in violation of the employer’s policy, but the employer still must pay the overtime.
- Overtime pay is denied to commissioned employees who do not regularly travel away from the employer’s workplace. Employees who perform inside sales, for example, are typically entitled to overtime pay if they are not required to travel on a regular basis.
Legal Remedies for an Employer’s Violation
Employees whose minimum wage and/or overtime pay rights have been violated may file suit as individuals or as part of a group, which is called a collective action. In addition to recovery of unpaid wages, an employee who successfully files suit for unpaid minimum wage and/or overtime pay may be able to recover an equal amount in liquidated damages, which makes the employee’s recovery double. Moreover, an employer who loses a lawsuit is typically required to pay for the employee’s attorneys’ fees and court costs.
Don’t Delay – You Have a Time Limit
In instances when an employee has been deprived of legally mandated minimum wage and/or overtime pay, the law allows an employee to recover that pay for a period of up to two years, running backward from the date of any lawsuit that is filed (three years if a willful violation has occurred). It is important for employees to contact legal counsel as soon as possible in order to understand and assert their rights, as any delay may cause a forfeiture of compensation that is due.
If you are interested in filing a case, do not hesitate to contact a St. Louis employment law attorney from Riggan Law Firm, LLC as soon as possible to retain trusted legal counsel: 314-528-9661
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