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Employees are entitled to be paid fully for all of their work. The Law Offices of Robert L. Kraselnik, PLLC provides the highest quality legal advice and representation to employees whose employers have failed to comply with federal and state wage and hour laws.
Our singular focus on situations in which employers have incompletely compensated their employees enables us to advance our clients’ interests most effectively.
Contact us directly by phone, e-mail, or through the free on-line questionnaire to determine whether you have a valid claim for unpaid overtime or unpaid minimum wages. The initial consultation is free, and if we cannot ultimately recover any money for you then you will owe us nothing.
Unpaid Overtime
Many types of employees do not realize that they must receive overtime for each hour they work over forty (40) in a week. Some employers, likewise, do not realize that they must pay overtime. This is not a matter of choice. Instead, this is mandated by the federal government under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), a national overtime pay law that covers certain employees and employers in all states.
Employees protected under the FLSA often mistakenly believe that they are not entitled to overtime if they did not request it in advance. Overtime, however, does not need to be requested in advance -- or at all. If overtime is worked, and the employer knows or reasonably should know of it, then it must be paid. Further, "work" can include activities that are performed prior to clocking in or subsequent to clocking out if those activities are an integral and indispensable part of the job. For example, a limousine service driver who regularly arrives at work twenty minutes early to review that day's routes and to make sure the vehicles are operational most likely is entitled to be paid for that time.
Employees protected under the FLSA also often incorrectly think that they are not entitled to overtime if they are earning a fixed salary or have an elaborate job title such as, for example, "Product Line Planner." In fact, a fixed salary or lofty job title does not automatically exempt an employee from coverage under the FLSA. It is the employee’s actual job responsibilities that determine whether the employee is entitled to overtime -- not the manner in which they are paid or their job title. Accordingly, employees earning fixed salaries whose duties cannot truly be considered “professional,” “administrative” or “executive” may be entitled to overtime even though their employer has misclassified them in an attempt to avoid the overtime requirements of the FLSA.
Click here for a list of methods by which employers commonly underpay their employees.
If your employer has unlawfully failed to pay you overtime, you may be entitled to damages that include back pay, liquidated damages (double the amount of wages owed), attorney's fees, and costs.
Unpaid Minimum Wages
Along with providing for the payment of overtime, the FLSA also mandates the payment of a federal minimum wage. The current federally mandated minimum wage is $5.85 per hour for all non-exempt employees. Many states also have their own minimum wage laws. When an employee is subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the higher minimum wage applies. This is the case in New York, which provides for a minimum wage of $7.15 per hour.
Employers regularly fail to pay customarily tipped employees the full wages they are owed under the law. Restaurant workers, in particular, often do not receive their full wages. Click here for an explanation of how this occurs.
Another very common minimum wage violation occurs when employers terminate their workers and then do not to give them their final paycheck. This can also lead to overtime issues. Click here for further discussion of this very common violation.
Contact Us Today
From its inception, the FLSA has been a progressive law, designed to ensure “a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.” The Law Offices of Robert L. Kraselnik, PLLC is dedicated to defending and advancing the enlightened principles upon which the U.S. Congress established the FLSA. Contact us directly by phone, e-mail, or through the on-line questionnaire to determine whether you have a valid unpaid wage claim. The initial consultation is free and we handle most cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that if we cannot recover any money for your claim, then you will not owe us any attorneys' fees for time spent pursuing your claim. If we do recover money for your claim, then the Law Offices of Robert L. Kraselnik, PLLC will either be paid its fees by the employer who has violated the law or will receive a percentage of the total amount of the money recovered on your behalf. In other words, regardless of the outcome of your case, you will pay nothing out of your own pocket.
You earned it. Now get it. Contact us today.
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