Wage And Hour Claims: Get Paid For The Time You Worked
As an employee, you have reasonable expectations that you will be paid for the time you worked, including overtime. If you have not been paid for the time that you worked, a wage and hour claim can be filed to get what is owed to you from your employer.
The Skolnick Weiser Law Firm, LLC, in Cleveland, helps employees file wage and hour claims. Our lawyers provide dedicated advocacy to workers throughout northeast Ohio and push through difficult labor law issues. To schedule your free initial consultation, please call toll-free at 877-977-3476 or locally at 216-861-8888. Se habla español.
Unpaid Overtime? Talk To Us For Help.
Federal guidelines in the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor regulations as overseen by the Bureau of Wage and Hour Administration provide for, among other items, a minimum wage and paid overtime. Our attorneys consider the time you worked, what you were paid, what you should have been paid and make a plan to secure a settlement on your behalf.
Your employer is required by law to pay you for the hours that you worked, including tasks done on the way to or from work (making a bank deposit on your way home from work, for example) and work that you do at home.
Your employer must pay you an overtime rate of at least 1.5 times your usual rate for all hours worked over 40. If you work overtime, you must be paid for overtime, but there are some occupations that are exempt from this. Our law firm can readily identify if your position is exempt from the overtime requirements.
New Overtime Rules For Salaried Employees
As part of an initiative to better align existing overtime regulations with the original intent of the Fair Labor Standards Act, in a 2014 directive, President Obama asked the Secretary of Labor to update the guidelines concerning overtime regulations. The new guidelines, which went into effect on December 1, 2016 provided better clarity to employers and workers, and:
- Strengthened protections for salaried workers who were already entitled to overtime pay
- Improved predictability by requiring the salary threshold to be based on wage growth over time and to be updated every three years
- Raised the salary eligibility threshold, which provided protections for millions of workers across the country
Even though you are a salaried employee, your employer may still owe you overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
The FLSA has 3 main exemptions for salaried employees:
- Administrative
- Executive
- Professional
Generally, for the employer to legitimately classify as an exempt administrative or executive employee, you must supervise at least two full-time employees, have authority to hire and fire, or at least have significant input in the hiring and firing decision-making process, and have decision making ability on matters of significance, and that your salary is not subject to deductions based on the quality or quantity of work.
Work Requiring Advanced Knowledge
With respect to the professional exemption, the employee’s work must involve work requiring advanced knowledge. According to the Department of Labor’s Exemption for Professional Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) fact sheet, this is:
“[W]ork which is predominantly intellectual in character, and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment […] Professional work is therefore distinguished from work involving routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work. A professional employee generally uses the advanced knowledge to analyze, interpret or make deductions from varying facts or circumstances. Advanced knowledge cannot be attained at the high school level.”
If your employer classified you as an exempt employee, and you come in three hours late because you had a doctor’s appointment, for example, your employer may not reduce your salary for this missed time. In addition, your salary may not be docked for disciplinary reasons.
If you are the victim of being a misclassified employee, call the attorneys at The Skolnick Weiser Law Firm, LLC, for a free case review.
Employers in Ohio are not required to provide meal breaks or rest breaks, but they still must comply with federal rules. Breaks are not required, but employers must pay employees for all time worked as well as shorter breaks during the day. If a longer meal break is provided, the employee does not need to be paid for that time.
We Can Help You Get Paid For Regular Hours And Overtime
Every dollar matters. The Skolnick Weiser Law Firm, LLC, will go the distance and help get you the results that you need. If you need help from a caring and qualified attorney, reach out to us to arrange a free initial consultation. We can be reached toll-free at 216-861-8888 or locally at 877-977-3476. We can also be contacted online. Se habla español.