40+ Hour Weeks [Wage and Hour Violations]

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), covered employers who permits or requires an employee to work over time is required to pay that employee premium pay for such overtime work. Typically, a worker who works in excess of 40 hours in a workweek, must be paid at a rate of one and a half of their normal hourly pay. The FLSA applies to a "workweek," that is, an employee's workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods. The "workweek" need not coincide with the calendar week. The workweek can begin on any day and at any hour of the day. Different workweeks may be established for different employees or groups of employees. The employer may not average an employee's hours over two or more weeks. Normally, overtime pay earned by the employee, in a particular workweek, must be paid on the regular pay day for the pay period in which the wages were earned.If you are an hourly non-exempt employee, and your employer has asked or allowed you to work overtime, without paying you time and a half of your normal hourly wage, you may have a legal claim for unpaid overtime pay. Similarly, if you have been asked to work overtime, off the clock, you may have a legal claim against your employer for unpaid overtime pay.

The Department of Labor's Wage Hour Division maintains a help page for workers, which provides downloadable PDF forms, organized by occupation, which gives simple but comprehensive explanation of your rights under the FLSA. Department of Labor, Wage Hour Division Help Page.

Don't work overtime off the clock; don't work overtime for less than time and a half; if you have, call Stockwell Law Firm, PLLC, to discuss filing the proper forms the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

See (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa) for further reading.

Christopher J. Stockwell has been one of the best employment lawyers in Seattle for nearly a decade representing workers in a wide variety of employment claims and disputes, primarily discrimination and wrongful termination actions. Call for a free consultation.