Whether you’re an hourly or salary employee, you can still receive overtime if you meet the requirements. Employers have the misconception that salary based wages don’t qualify for overtime, while others choose to ignore the laws in hopes that employees won’t notice.
This unfortunate trend is often seen in the tech industry, where employees work over 40 hours per week and don’t receive the proper compensation. Understanding the wage laws can help you identify when the very company you’re working so hard for is taking advantage of you.
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act employers are required to provide overtime pay (one and a half time their hourly rate) to non-exempt employees who work over 40 hours in one week. This includes full-time salary employees who make less than $47,476 per year and meet the non-exemption requirements. Employers can be sued if they fail to provide proper compensation for these overtime hours or misinform their employees by telling them that they are exempt when in fact, they are not. This was the case for employers at a California tech company.
The former and current System Administrators at Computer Sciences Corp filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the company had “misclassified them as exempt from overtime pay.” They were successful in their pursuit of justice as the jury unanimously agreed that the employees are non-exempt and should be compensated for their overtime hours. The jury also found that the actions of the tech company were deliberate which adds more charges to the damages they paid.
When you’re required to finish work that demands your time after hours, or you’re often attending to client needs at home, after working an eight-hour day, you deserve the right compensation for your effort and dedication. If you identify with the employees of Computer Sciences Corp and feel that your employer has misclassified you as an exempt employee and refuses to pay overtime, The Carter Law Firm would like to help.
We speak up for your rights and the rights of others who have been wronged by your company and others like it. Allow us to help you fight the intimidation of corporations and confidently take a stand against there wrong doings.
