Am I Entitled to Overtime Pay?

 Employers should fully understand their responsibilities to their employees. On the other hand, employees should make a concerted effort to know their legal rights and what they are entitled to. As an employee, you may have important questions such as whether or not you are entitled to overtime pay. If you have a legal right to overtime pay, you have earned overtime pay, and your employer has not adequately compensated you for this time, this is tantamount to theft. Withholding money to which you are legally entitled is considered wage theft. If you have questions about your rights as an employee or think your rights might have been violated, contact NYC employment litigation attorney Thomas M. Lancia. He can help answer your questions and fight for the enforcement of your legal rights.

New York City Employment Litigation Attorney

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires most employers to pay overtime wages. Employers required to comply with FLSA mandates include those businesses that generate $500,000 or more in annual sale. Additionally, FLSA covers those employers that engage in “interstate commerce.” This means that business is conducted between states. This includes making out of state business calls, sending goods to another state, or receiving goods from another state. It is safe to say that a large portion of employers are subject to the FLSA.

While your employer may be subject to the requirements of the FLSA, it does not necessarily mean that your employer will be required to pay you overtime. Employees must be paid overtime unless they fall into an exception laid out in the FLSA. Those included in the exceptions are referred to as “exempt” employees. Those entitled to overtime pay are referred to as “non-exempt” employees.

Exempt employee categories are varied and the categories of exempt employees are laid out in FLSA. One of the broadest of these categories are the salaried employees who work in management positions or engage in professional work that generally requires an advance degree. These are the employees that are sometimes referred to as “white collar workers.” These are “administrative, executive, or professional” employees. They perform job duties that require exercising discretion and independent judgment.

When a qualifying employee works more than 40 hours in one week, you are entitled to the overtime premium. The overtime premium is 50% of your hourly wage. This means that you will be paid “time and a half” for your overtime hours. Time and a half payment is your usual hourly pay rate plus the 50% overtime premium.

Working to Enforce the Rights of Employees

You work hard and deserve to be justly compensate for this. When you are not paid what you are owed, you are being short-changed. It could easily be happening to your co-workers as well. Attorney Thomas M. Lancia fights for enforcement of employee rights and takes this fight to court when need be. If you think your employer is withholding overtime pay that you are owed, contact Attorney Lancia today.