Overtime Lawyers in Florida

In Florida, non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a particular work week. It is important to note that The Sunshine State follows Federal labor laws regarding overtime pay.

If you work more than 40 hours during a work week in Florida, and you are not an exempt employee, you are entitled to time and a half overtime pay.

In addition, the following laws apply in Florida:

• Employers are not required to pay for vacation, holiday, or any other time not worked.
• Employers are not required to offer additional pay for work done on weekends or holidays.
• Employers are not required to provide breaks to employees. However, if they do, they should pay for breaks lasting 20 minutes or less. 
• Employers do not need to pay for meal breaks lasting 30 minutes or more, just as long as the employee is relieved of all duties while on break.
• Employers have the right to choose a pay period that works for them.

Since Florida does not have state-specific regulations governing overtime pay but instead uses Federal laws, many employers take advantage of this vacuum to deny their employers their hard-earned money.

Some common tactics rogue employers use to avoid paying employees overtime include:

• Requesting employees to work off the clock, such as running errands before clocking in or after clocking out of work.
• Averaging hours worked to make it seem like the employee worked 40 hours or less a particular work week. 
• Misclassifying workers are exempt when they are actually non-exempt 
• Offering a salary when they should be paying hourly wages.
• Combining the duties of exempt and non-exempt workers.
• Deleting hours from employees’ timesheets.

As a worker in Florida, the law protects you against such practices by unscrupulous employers. If you suspect that your employer has been using any of these tactics to deny you overtime pay, contact Morgan and Morgan overtime lawyers immediately. We might be able to help you recover your hard-earned wages and even more.

Certain employees in Florida are not entitled to overtime pay. These employers are usually considered ‘exempt’ by labor and employment laws. Examples of exempt employees include:

• Executives
• Administrators
• Professionals such as certified teachers, skilled computer workers, artists, etc
• Outside sales workers (those who work away from their employer’s main workplace)

The answer to this question will depend on factors such as the specifics of your employment, your duties and responsibilities, and other factors. Contacting an experienced overtime lawyer in Florida is the best way to discover the truth about your employment status.

It is against the law for an employer to punish an employee for demanding their hard-earned wages. Therefore, you should not be afraid to fight for what belongs to you, even if you risk losing your job. Contact a Morgan and Morgan labor and employment attorney immediately if your employer retaliates against you for fighting for your rights.

Did you know that our law firm files the most employment litigation cases in the country? If your employer punishes you for demanding what you are entitled to, they might pay you more than that. Our labor and employment attorneys can help you file a workplace discrimination lawsuit against your employer on top of the unpaid overtime lawsuit.

Keep in mind that some rogue employers use different retaliatory tactics against employees who participate in protected activities in the workplace. However, they do this secretly, hoping they will get away with it. For example, your employer might have retaliated against you if they did the following after you filed an unpaid overtime claim or lawsuit against them:

• Sent you to work in a new location away from your friends, family, or any social life.
• Refused to provide reasonable accommodations for your disability.
• Failed to invite you to important meetings you used to attend. 
• Reduced your working hours. 
• Failed to promote you even though you were eligible for the promotion.

Contact a labor and employment attorney if your employer retaliated against you for claiming unpaid overtime. Our attorneys might be able to fight for your rights and restore your dignity in the workplace.

This is usually one of the many tactics some rogue employers use to deny their employees overtime pay. When you work more than 40 hours in a work week, any hours worked after that, in that particular work week, are considered overtime. Therefore, in this situation, if you worked 60 hours a week, you deserved 20 hours of overtime pay.

But here is how some employers handle these scenarios:

They will add the 60 hours to the 20 hours and then divide the result by the two weeks you worked. Then, they will claim that you worked 40 hours a week, hence no need for overtime pay (if you get paid every two weeks).

However, that should not be the case. Each week is different. Therefore, overtime pay is calculated based on the hours worked on that particular week, not the average hours worked over a specific pay period.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, you may recover double back pay and liquidated damages. For example, if your employer owes you $20,000 in unpaid overtime, you may recover $20,000 and an additional $20,000 as liquidated damages. 

However, it is important to note that liquidated damages are not usually guaranteed in these cases. Instead, you must prove that the employer acted out of bad faith, willfulness, negligence, or prior knowledge of their actions. 

For example, suppose the employer did not pay you overtime due to an error with the timesheet software that failed to record overtime pay. In that case, your employer might not be required to pay liquidated damages if they can prove that they did not act out of bad faith. On the other hand, if you can prove that the employer intentionally programmed the software to delete overtime records, you may be eligible for liquidated damages.

No, it does not. You cannot waive your right to overtime pay. If you work overtime, you deserve to be paid time and a half for the extra hours worked (above the 40-hour-a-week threshold). Therefore, any agreement to waive your right to overtime pay is not legal.

The truth is that filing a lawsuit is not the only option when handling such cases. In fact, it is usually the last option. The first thing you need to do when you discover that your employer owes you overtime pay is to raise the issue with them.

While at it, ensure you keep records of your communication with your employer, including their responses and reactions. 

Of course, your employer will need proof that you worked overtime. The best evidence to prove your claim will depend on the unique circumstances of your case. The following are some common examples of different ways to prove unpaid overtime:

• Providing copies of your timesheets
• Collecting statements from your coworkers who worked with you
• Providing copies of work-related notes you took while on shift
• Obtaining surveillance footage to prove your presence in the workplace during the shifts in question

The evidence required to prove your case depends on your situation, so contact an unpaid overtime attorney for further legal advice and guidance. The attorney will review the specifics of your case and determine what counts as solid evidence to support your claim and what does not. In addition, the attorney might be able to help you gather the said evidence to prove that your employer owes you overtime pay.

Speaking of evidence collection, it is important that you hire attorneys with access to powerful resources to fight for you. Cases as complex as unpaid overtime require powerful legal resources to investigate. If you do not hire the right attorney to fight for you, chances are they will conduct shoddy investigations because they do not have the resources to dig into every detail of the case.

Suppose you are uncertain about how much your employer owes you as overtime pay. In that case, an experienced unpaid overtime attorney can help calculate everything your employer owes you before filing a claim.

Keep in mind that unpaid overtime attorneys are usually paid on a contingency basis. Therefore, they are always motivated to maximize their client’s claims, creating a win-win situation.

Just because you get paid a fixed salary does not mean that you are not entitled to overtime pay. Unfortunately, this is usually one of the many tactics some rogue employers use to deny their employees their right to overtime pay. Therefore, if you believe you are entitled to overtime pay, contacting an experienced attorney is the best way to find out the truth. This applies even if you are unsure whether you are an exempt employee. An experienced attorney will review your case and clarify the most important things you need to know.

If you are looking for unpaid overtime lawyers in Florida, Morgan and Morgan is the law firm to contact. Here is why:

• We are the largest personal injury law firm in the country.
• We file the most employment litigation cases in the country.
• We have an army of over 800 attorneys specializing in different areas of injury law, including employment litigation. 
• We have powerful legal resources to fight for you.
• We do not settle for anything less than what our clients truly deserve.
• We have helped our clients recover more than $15 billion as compensation for different cases, including those involving labor and employment disputes.
• We have been serving clients in Florida and all over the country since 1988.

Do not let your employer take advantage of you. Fill out our free case evaluation form to get started with your claim.