Common Overtime Problems

The Fair Labor Standards Act is a complicated law, and you should contact an attorney if you believe your rights have been violated. However, we have listed some of the most common ways that employers illegally cheat employees out of their wages.

1. Misclassifying Employees as Salaried – Many employers try to classify employees as “salaried exempt” even when the law does not allow it.


To be exempt from the overtime law, employees must fit within certain exemptions to the FLSA. The professional exemption, the administrative exemption, and executive exemption are a few examples. Many employers try to give employees fancy job titles or try to fit them into these exemptions even when they are not performing exempt work. If you are a salaried employee, call our firm so we can help determine whether you are entitled to overtime.

2. Working Employees Off the Clock -- Many employers simply work employees while they are not clocked in. This is illegal; you are usually entitled to be paid for the work you do.

3. Travel Time – Most travel time is work time. Many employer do not understand when they must pay employees for time spent traveling on the employer’s behalf.

4. Lunch Breaks – Employers often automatically deduct lunch breaks from an employee’s pay, even if the employee wasn’t able to take their lunch break. This is usually illegal.

5. Comp Time – Many employers tell employees that they will receive “comp time” that they can use later instead of overtime. Comp time is only legal for a very few government employees. If you are not a public safety employee, such as a fireman or policeman, your employer may be cheating you out of overtime pay by giving you “comp time.”

6. “Chinese Overtime” – The fluctuating workweek, which is sometimes referred to as “Chinese overtime,” is an unfair system that pays employees less money per hour the more hours they work. While the fluctuating workweek is legal, it is very complicated. We have had several cases where an employer does not implement the fluctuating workweek correctly, which results in employees receiving less wages than they are owed.

If you believe you are the victim of any of these or other unfair pay practices, please call our office at 1-888-354-FIRM (3476) .

 


101 North Highland | Jackson, Tennessee  38301 | Telephone:  731-664-1340
Chesapeake Business Centre | 1616 Westgate Circle | Brentwood, Tennessee 37027 | 1-888-354-FIRM (3476)
6000 Poplar Avenue | Suite 250 | Memphis, Tennessee  38119 | Telephone: 901-766-1868

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