Curious About Filing a Wage and Hour Lawsuit?

Wage and Hour Lawsuits: The Basics

Do you feel like you’ve been treated unfairly by your employer when it comes to your hours and wages? Workers who feel that have worked overtime without pay, haven’t been given proper breaks, or were forced to work off the clock can earn compensation by filing a wage and hour lawsuit.

What a Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit Means

Employers who do not follow federal wage, break, and overtime rules are in violation of FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act). Because a company’s violations often happen to many employees rather than just one, a wage and hour class action represents a group of employees at the same company. Wage and hour class action lawsuits are some of the most common workplace class action suits.

Types of Wage and Hour Lawsuits

The FLSA sets standards for hourly employees that employers must meet, or they are in violation of the law. These include:

• 40-hour work weeks
• Paid overtime
• Clock-in and clock-out procedures
• Mandatory breaks based on hours worked
• And others

For example, an employer who requires employees to work past their 40 hours in a week and does not pay them overtime wages (often it is 150% of their hourly rate) is in violation of the FLSA. The employee who worked overtime without compensation can bring a wage and hour lawsuit against the employer.

Both state laws and federal laws come into play with wage and hour lawsuits. That’s because sometimes state laws mandate higher minimum wages and stricter break/overtime policies than at the federal level. For example, a company in Ohio paying workers federal minimum wage but not state minimum wage would still be in violation of the FLSA.

Why File a Wage and Hour Lawsuit?

Common wage and hour class actions include:

• Tip-sharing violations
• Off-the-clock violations
• Minimum wage violations
• Overtime pay violations

These violations may include improper classification of employees as exempt, making unwarranted deductions from paychecks, not sharing tips fairly, or considering a worker “off-the-clock” even while they’re performing job-related tasks.

A wage and hour class action lawsuit, if won, would require employers to pay back wages lost. You have a right to the money you’ve earned working for your employer, so wage and hour lawsuits are a way for you to get back the money you deserve if you feel like you have been paid unfairly.

How to Go About a Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit

The FLSA has created a process for filing wage and hour class action lawsuits, called “collective action.” Those looking to file a wage and hour class action lawsuits first must determine if other employees were treated the same. If so, the plaintiff will have the opportunity to bring in other class members, who have the option to opt-in to the lawsuit.

How a Lawyer Can Help

If you feel like you haven’t been given your proper earnings, a lawyer can help you through the wage and hour class action lawsuit process. Trust these professionals to know your rights under the FLSA and help you get the compensation you need for the work you performed. Talk to one of our experienced lawyers today to see if your case can be filed as a wage and hour class action lawsuit.