Wage and Hour Claims Lawyer Washington DC

The SITUATION:

Your employer tells you that you are hired as a salaried employee to perform administrative duties as a receptionist in the office. You work more than forty hours per week on a regular basis and are told that you cannot be paid overtime because you are a salaried employee.

What could go WRONG:

You learn that as a receptionist, you do not fall within one of the exceptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) as a manager, professional or office administrator. As a result, you are, in fact, entitled to be paid overtime for your work.

In addition to the question of your entitlement to overtime pay, you are unsure as to how much back pay you are entitled to receive for your overtime work?

You continue to ask your employer to pay you overtime. Days later, you are fired with no explanation.

The RIGHT CHOICE:

Over the years, many clients and potential clients share with me the job duties they are performing and come to learn that they are, in fact, not exempt under the FLSA to be paid hourly and overtime, even though their employer defines them as “salaried.” In fact, it is job tasks – and not words – that control the proper classification of a given employee.

In addition, an employee may not be retaliated against for pursuing his, her or their proper wages. That, too, violates the law.

Below are various issues that may arise in the wage and hour context that you need to look for as you assess whether your rights have been violated:

• Collective action claims
• Failure to pay commissions
• Donning and doffing
• Improper deductions from wages
• Independent contractors vs. employees: are you properly classified?
• Meal and rest breaks
• Minimum wage issues
• On-call time
• Overtime issues
• Restaurant workers
• Retaliation for seeking unpaid wages or gender disparities
• Time shaving
• Union workers

You have a right to be paid for your hard work. The Right Choice entails assessing the specific tasks and responsibilities associated with your employment, and then determining what rights you do have to pursue unpaid wages under the current labor laws.