Overtime / Wage & Hour / Minimum Wage

Under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state law, unless you are an exempt employee, you must be paid minimum wage, which is presently $7.25 per hour, and time-and-one-half your regular hourly rate for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. If you are not paid minimum wage, or if you are not paid overtime, you may have a claim against your employer. Often these claims can be aggregated with your coworkers to form a class action lawsuit.

There are common practices which violate wage & hour law. While executive, administrative, professional employees, outside sales employees and certain computer professionals are exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, many employers misclassify employees, mistakenly or intentionally, as being exempt when they are not. Similarly, simply because you are paid a salary or receive a commission does not mean that you are necessarily an exempt employee.

Another unlawful practice occurs when an employer fails to account for all the time you actually work as opposed to scheduled work. This may happen when a company fails to accurately record time, alters time or requires employees to work before signing in or after signing out. Your employer may claim you are not entitled to overtime because it was not approved. However, if your employer knows that you have worked for the benefit of the company through your break or after hours, they may be required to pay you for those hours and any overtime owing as a result of counting that time.

A growing problem in today’s economy is when a company refuses to pay you overtime because it misclassifies you as an “independent contractor” when you are really an employee. The label “independent contractor” does not mean you are one under the law. That misclassification can result in a violation of wage & hour law.

Since the rules that determine who is exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements and what hours count as hours worked can be complex, you should consult a Willig, Williams & Davidson employment attorney if you believe you may not have been paid appropriately.

Overtime / Wage & Hour / Minimum Wage: Resources

• Willig, Williams & Davidson Attorney Quoted in Bloomberg BNA
  March 29, 2017
  Ryan A. Hancock shared his insight with Gayle Cinquegrani of Bloomberg BNA for an article entitled “Ban-the-Box Laws Reduce Role of Criminal Records in Hiring.”
• Labor and Employment Attorney Alaine Williams Quoted on New U.S. Overtime Standards
  May 27, 2016
  Willig, Williams & Davidson partner comments on a recent ruling by the U.S. Department of Labor updating overtime regulations.
• NLRB Throws Flag at Northwestern Football Players
  January 19, 2016
  A unanimous 2015 decision of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ended the union organizing effort of Northwestern University’s scholarship football players.
• Employment Law Attorney Ryan Hancock Speaks at the Bloomberg BNA 'Labor & Employment Legal Webinar'
  September 17, 2015
  On Sept. 17, 2015, attorney Ryan Allen Hancock will speak at the Bloomberg ‘BNA Labor & Employment Legal Webinar.’
• Proposed Overtime Regulations are Good News for the Middle Class
  July 13, 2015
  On July 6, 2015, the United States Department of Labor published a proposed rule that would modernize longstanding overtime exemptions for white-collar employees, which is intended to greatly expand the pool of American workers entitled to overtime pay for work beyond 40 hours in a work week.
• Minor League Players Sue MLB for Wage, Antitrust Violations
  June 30, 2015
  Two recently filed federal lawsuits may open a new chapter of labor discord between Major League Baseball and its players. Unlike in the past, the disgruntled workers are not major league players but the approximately 6,000 minor league players whom MLB teams employ to play for their minor league affiliates.
• If They Look Like Employees and Work Like Employees, Interns Need to be Paid Like Employees
  June 9, 2015
  Willig, Williams & Davidson, Of Counsel attorney Ryan Hancock reviews trends and factors for paid versus unpaid interns in the workforce today.
• Labor Law Attorney Bruce Ludwig Quoted on the NLRB's Decision in Pursuing McDonald's
  August 7, 2014
  Willig, Williams & Davidson labor and union attorney Bruce M. Ludwig comments on the National Labor Relations Board including McDonald's parent company in a suit against franchise owners.
• State Budget Impasse: The Political Question Doctrine, Statutory Interpretation and Federal Pre-Emption
  March 9, 2010
  The Legal Intelligencer Supplement - Top Cases of 2010
• Philadelphia Union Lawyers Secure Hard-won Victory for Pennsylvania Public Employees Deprived of Pay During Budget Clashes
  December 30, 2009
  Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Rendell Administration's "Payless Paydays" a Violation of The Fair Labor Standards Act
• Final Approval Granted In Johnson v. Pennsylvania Agency of Nurses
  December 1, 2009
  On July 7, 2008, Willig, Williams & Davidson partner Bruce M. Ludwig filed a class action lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County against the Pennsylvania Agency of Nurses on behalf of a group of home care workers employed by that agency.
• Final Approval Granted in Bethune v. Maxim Healthcare Services
  October 30, 2009
  On May 5, 2008, Willig, Williams & Davidson partner, Bruce M. Ludwig, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of a group of home health care workers employed by Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc in Pennsylvania.
• Court Certifies Wage & Hour Class Action in Bishop, et al. v. Lee's Industries, Inc.
  October 23, 2009
  On October 23, 2009, the Court of Common Pleas certified the lawsuit filed by Willig, Williams & Davidson employment law attorney Bruce M. Ludwig as a class action.