Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, overtime is owed to most employees for every hour worked over 40 hours in a workweek. This means employers must compensate the employee time and a half. Overtime is the employee’s regular hourly rate plus half of the hourly rate for each and every hour worked over 40 hours in one week.
If an employer has not paid its employee overtime or time and a half for each and every hour over 40 hours a week, the employee may sue the employer for an FLSA overtime violation. Once the FLSA lawsuit has been brought, the employer may have to pay liquidated damages.
Liquidated damages are considered damages which double the amount of overtime compensation owed to the employee. Overtime wages and liquidated damages can go as far back as three years from the time the lawsuit was initiated. More importantly, once an FLSA lawsuit has been brought, the attorney’s fees may also be paid for by the employer.
It is important to immediately contact the overtime attorneys at Marrero & Wydler if a lawsuit has been filed against an employer or if as an employee overtime has not been paid.