Overtime Attorney
Ventura
, California
| Overtime Lawyer
The Fair Labor Standards Act is the federal law that governs wages and overtime. This is the law that says that most employees must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours a week in a seven day period.
According to California and federal laws, your employer must pay you time-and-a-half your regular rate of pay for:
- All hours worked in excess of 8 hours; and
- The first 8 hours worked on the seventh consecutive day worked in one week.
California and federal laws also state that your employer must pay you double your regular rate of pay for:
- All hours worked beyond 12 hours in a single day; and
- The hours worked beyond 8 on the seventh consecutive day worked in a single week.
All Employees are Not Equal
To determine if you may be owed overtime by your employer, your overtime attorney must determine if you are an
exempt or
non-exempt employee. That is because only
non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime.
Determining whether you are an exempt or non-exempt employee can be complicated. It has nothing to do with your job title.
Exempt employees often are:
- Professionals
- Executives
- Administrative (many administrators are really non-exempt, so you will want your overtime lawyer to verify your classification)
- Computer Professional (again, not all are exempt)
- Artists
- Outside salespeople
- Commissioned Inside Sales People
An exempt employee is usually on salary that is no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment.
But salary does not determine if you are an exempt or non-exempt employee. Some non-exempt employees earn salaries. The determination is made by how much responsibility you have for your work.
Comp Time Only Policies Are Not Allowed
Has your employer told you that he will not pay overtime but you can have “comp time”? He can’t do that legally.
Most private companies must reimburse you in cash, not time, if you work overtime.
Government employees can be compensated, at least partially, with comp time.
When Overtime is Not Paid
The law says that it is the employer’s job to control the work.. If your employer reasonably knew that you were working overtime, you are entitled to be paid for overtime.
You are not required to ask for permission or to “put in” for overtime in order to be paid for the hours you worked over eight hours in a day.
You are not required to report the overtime or to have asked for it.
However, there are exceptions, which overtime attorney Nicolas Vrataric of The Law Offices of Nicolas C. Vrataric can explain to you.
When Time Sheets and Records Don’t Exist
If your employer does not maintain records, it becomes the employer’s burden to disapprove the employee’s claims. The law will accept your
reasonable and realistic estimate of the time you worked.
Overtime includes time you worked “off the clock”:
- Maintaining equipment
- Making and returning business calls
- Job-related paperwork from home
- Being on call
- Missing meal breaks
- Coming into work early or staying late to work
- Job-related errands on the way to or from work (like dropping off the mail on your way home).
- Pre-shift or pre-work meetings
You Can’t Legally Be Fired for Suing for Overtime
It is not legal for your employer to
retaliate (get back at you) for suing for overtime.
You could have a retaliation lawsuit against your employer if because of your overtime lawsuit you are:
- Fired
- Demoted
- Assigned to an unpopular job
- Assigned to an unpopular shift
- Declined a normal pay raise
Your employer also cannot:
- Fire a relative
- Refuse to hire you because you filed a lawsuit
- Demote you
You Can’t Afford Not To Call
Overtime lawyer Nicolas Vrataric of The Law Office of Nicolas Vrataric has earned clients significant
verdicts and settlements because their employers did not pay them overtime.Nicolas Vrataric takes select overtime cases on a contingency basis. That means you pay nothing until the case reaches a settlement or verdict.
Contact Us
Contact an overtime attorney at The Law Offices of Nicolas C. Vrataric for a free, no-obligation, and confidential consultation.
