Overtime Attorney in Charlotte

The FLSA is the federal law that addresses labor issues, such as setting the national minimum wage. As of August 2022, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which is the same minimum wage that workers have received at the federal level since 2009. Because of the stagnant growth in the federal minimum wage, several states have established higher minimum wages for American workers. Some states such as California have doubled the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. North Carolina follows the federal wage standard by imposing a minimum hourly wage of $7.25.

According to the overtime section of the FLSA, American employers must pay an overtime wage that is one and half times greater than the federal minimum wage. If a worker earns $8 per hour, the worker’s employer must pay an overtime wage of $12 an hour for every hour worked during a workweek that exceeds 40 hours. The United States Department of Labor (DOL), which represents the federal agency in charge of enforcing the FLSA, defines one workweek as a   “fixed and recurring period of 168 hours.” If an employer begins a workweek at 12 am Tuesday morning, the 168-hour workweek ends the following Monday at midnight. Employers retain the flexibility to create their own workweeks, as long as the workweeks last for 168 consecutive hours.

The FLSA and other federal labor laws do not restrict how many overtime hours an employee can work, as long as the employee is at least 16 years of age. According to federal labor laws, employers have the right to demand overtime from eligible employees. The FLSA also grants American workers the right to take legal action against employers that violate the historic employment law, such as filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

The FLSA penalizes employers that violate the FLSA in two ways. First, the DOL has the legal power to fine an employer no more than $10,000 for every violation of the FLSA. If an American employer committed 10 violations of the FLSA, the DOL can issue fines of up to $100,000 to cover the penalty for the 10 labor law violations. Repeated offenders can face criminal charges that result in jail time for one or more executive officers of the employer that violated the FLSA. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the DOL enforces the provisions written into the federal labor law, such as deciding the severity of the penalty levied on an employer.

As we mentioned, the second alternative for punishing an American employer involves filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. However, filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages represents a costly and time-consuming legal maneuver. Before you file a civil lawsuit against your employer, consult with one of the overtime lawyers in Charlotte, NC from Morgan and Morgan. Maybe the attorney that you speak with might recommend trying to negotiate a favorable settlement before initiating legal action.

You have many valid reasons to hire one of the overtime attorneys in Charlotte, North Carolina from Morgan and Morgan. One of the most compelling reasons concerns filing a formal complaint against your employer for committing one or more FLSA violations. Your employer cannot retaliate against you for filing an FLSA complaint, such as reducing your hours or putting you on furlough. If your employer has retaliated against you for reporting one or more FLSA violations to the WHD, you should immediately contact one of the overtime attorneys in Charlotte, NC from Morgan and Morgan.

With the legal support of your Morgan and Morgan employment lawyer, you file an FLSA complaint against your employer with the WHD. Submit your current contact information, including your email address, as well as a comprehensive description of your job duties. Send copies of wage and timekeeping records, as well as copies of employee records that include the results of performance reviews. The WHD also needs the contact information of your immediate supervisor and the manager of human resources.

North Carolina follows the federal establishment of the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour. If you work more than 40 hours during a workweek, you should receive overtime pay that is valued at time and a half of what you earn for regular pay. If you receive the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, your employer must pay you $10.88 an hour for overtime compensation. One of the few exceptions to the 40-hour workweek definition regards seasonal employees that work at amusement parks and recreational venues. Seasonal workers in California receive overtime compensation once they exceed 45 hours in one workweek.

North Carolina employment laws allow overtime exemptions for certain occupations, such as executives, administrators, and outside sales representatives. Consulting with one of the overtime attorneys in Charlotte, NC at Morgan and Morgan can help you determine whether you work in a position that qualifies you for overtime pay. North Carolina does not restrict employers from requiring overtime work, as well as limits the number of overtime hours an employee can put in during one workweek.

The FLSA establishes a deadline of two years to file an overtime complaint against your employer. According to the FLSA, the clock starts ticking for the deadline on the date of the first overtime violation committed by your employer. If your employer intentionally violated one or more provisions of the FLSA, your attorney might ask the WHD to grant you an additional year to file a complaint. Although you might have up to three years to file an overtime complaint against your employer, you should act with a sense of urgency by filing a complaint as quickly as possible after the first overtime violation.

The WHD encourages American workers to wait no more than 18 months to file a complaint. Filing a complaint as quickly as possible gets your information into a system that frequently experiences slow responses due to the high volume of complaints filed by American workers.

When you search for the right lawyer to represent you for an overtime case, you want the attorney to have a considerable amount of experience litigating employment law cases. However, the quantity of experience as measured in the number of years is not as important as the quality of experience, such as the percentage of a labor lawyer’s clients that receive compensation because of overtime violations. At Morgan and Morgan, our employment attorneys have compiled an impressive record of success in getting clients the compensation they deserve for receiving inadequate overtime pay.

Negotiates Settlements

At Morgan and Morgan, the primary goal of our labor attorneys is to get our clients the compensation they deserve. This means we work hard to negotiate a favorable settlement before we take an overtime case in front of a civil court judge. Your lawyer submits an offer to the other party, which the other party can accept, reject, or send back with a counteroffer. Negotiations can go through several rounds of counteroffers until both parties agree to a settlement or both parties decide to take their chances with a trial.

Specializes in Handling Wage Abuse Cases

Because of the many categories that define employment law, Morgan and Morgan assigns attorneys to cases that match their legal specialties. If you want to file a complaint against your employer for overtime violations, working with a Morgan and Morgan employment lawyer who specializes in overtime violation cases gives you the best chance of winning your case. Although many attorneys treat employment law as a supplemental source of income, the overtime attorneys in Charlotte, NC from Morgan and Morgan work exclusively on employment law cases.

If your employer refuses to pay proper overtime wages, schedule a free case evaluation today with one of the overtime attorneys in Charlotte, NC from Morgan and Morgan to determine the best course of legal action.