Unpaid Overtime Under The Fair Labor Standards ACT (FLSA)
If you believe that your employer has failed to pay you overtime payments for hours worked over 40 hours during a work week or if the amount paid results in you earning less than the federally mandated minimum wages. Richard William may be able to help you recover what is owed to you.
If you are a covered employee under Federal and State wage and hour laws and you believe your employer violated those laws, you may file a lawsuit against your employer or participate with other employees in a collective lawsuit against your employer.
Individual Lawsuits
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), you have a right to file a private action against your employer for:
- Unpaid minimum wages, overtime and liquidated damages.
- Monetary damages and equitable relief if you are discharged or discriminated against for asserting your rights under the FLSA.
Collective Actions
One or more employees can file a collective action against the employer to recover unpaid wages on behalf of themselves or other similarly situated employees. Collective actions are not the same as class action lawsuits; similarly situated employees can “opt in” by filing a written consent with the court, or they can file their own separate individual actions.
In determining if a collective FLSA action is appropriate for certification, the court will conduct two inquiries. First, the plaintiff employees must present facts to show that they are similarly situated; that is, they are the victims of a common policy or plan to violate the FLSA. The Court also examines three additional factors to ensure that the employees are similarly situated:
(1) That any employment related differences between them are few,
(2). That the various defenses available to the employer against each plaintiff employee are essentially the same and
(3).That any fairness and procedural questions of all claims are similar.
If after this analysis, the plaintiff employees can still show that they are similarly situated, the Court will certify the collective action and other aggrieved employees may opt in. If the court finds that the plaintiffs are too dissimilar, it will dismiss the collective action and the employees must file individual lawsuits.
If you prevail in these lawsuits, the employer is responsible for paying you all back wages owed, a similar sum as liquidated damages, which amounts to punishment for not paying the correct wages in the first place, costs and your attorney’s fees.
Let us evaluate your case for you. We do not charge a consultation fee and you do not have to pay us unless you recover monies for yourself! Call us now!
Use our online form to tell us briefly about your case and someone will contact you about your case. We have recovered Tens of thousands of Dollars for people just like you!