Jacksonville Unpaid Wage & Overtime Lawyer

Believe it or not, many employers do not want to pay their employees a fair wage. In fact, every day across the U.S., employers violate federal and state laws that pertain to wages and overtime.

Employers have many tricks up their sleeves to avoid paying employees what is rightfully owed to them. Sometimes employers will misclassify their employees, giving them supervisor or manager titles when they are not performing the duties of someone in that position. In other cases, employers will not pay an hourly employer at least the federal minimum wage or provide them with overtime pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. If you feel that you are a misclassified employee or you are not being paid at least minimum wage, our Jacksonville Unpaid Wage & Overtime Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help. Call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online.

Understanding Exemptions

For employees that are classified as professional, administrative and managerial employees, there are specific wage and overtime exemptions. The laws surrounding these positions can be difficult to understand, so if you have any discrepancies it is best to speak with a Jacksonville Wage Dispute Lawyer at Whittel & Melton if you suspect you are owed money.

Overtime Violations – Jacksonville Unpaid Wage & Overtime Lawyers – 866-608-5529

There are numerous state and federal laws that are set in place to ensure that all employees who have earned overtime be paid the full amount owed to them. The law is also clear that an employee can bring an overtime lawsuit over unpaid wages and overtime against their employer, either past or present, when they violate these laws. These laws ensure that employees will be paid minimum wage, which in Florida is $8.10 per hour, and that they will be paid for all the time that they work, including overtime.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that clearly mandates employees must be paid at least minimum wage and all employers must pay nonexempt employees time and one half overtime pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 during a specified work week.

Overtime Violations

While there are numerous ways that an employer can violate the FLSA or other wage and overtime laws, most violations are actually quite common and seen over and over again in the workplace. The most common violations are as follows:

• Failure to pay employees for all overtime hours
• Violating meal and break periods
• Misclassifying employees as independent contractors or as exempt when they are actually non-exempt
• Failing to add in all hours worked, including on call time, travelling between locations and even small breaks
• Telling all salaried workers they cannot earn overtime pay
• Providing compensatory time as opposed to overtime pay

Overtime violations are rampant among all types of businesses. A list has been compiled regarding reported overtime violations amongst various industries, and the following shows where the most violations occur:

• Personal & Repair Services: 91.8 percent
• Private households: 88.6 percent
• Retail and & Drug Stores: 83.4 percent
• Home Health Care: 73.6 percent
• Apparel & Textile Manufacturing: 71 percent
• Residential Construction: 70.5 percent
• Restaurant & Hotels: 69.7 percent
• Grocery Stores: 65 percent
• Security, Building & Grounds Services: 62.6 percent
• Food & Furniture manufacturing, Transportation, & Warehousing: 51.9 percent
• Who are the biggest violators of overtime pay? We have it broken down for you:
• Full Service Restaurants
• Fast Food Restaurants
• Gas Station Convenience Stores
• Hotels and Motels
• Child Care Services

Whittel & Melton Can Help

If you have questions regarding how you are paid and the laws governing wages, you should immediately contact a Jacksonville Unpaid Wage & Overtime Lawyer at Whittel & Melton at 866-608-5529 or contact us online. We can make sure you understand your rights and what we can do to help remedy your situation.

We proudly serve all of Jacksonville, including St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs and Macclenny.

Call 866-608-5529 or contact us online to arrange a free consultation today.