Overtime Attorney in Houston

The Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA), in combination with Texas-specific labor laws, provides several protections for workers against unjust employers. For example, the FLSA requires an employee to be paid 1.5 times their base wage for any hours worked in excess of the 40-hour work week. Texas law expands on this, permitting agencies to allow (or even require) compensatory time off at the rate of 1.5 times the employee’s overtime hours.

This “time and a half” method of overtime pay is widely used and, unfortunately, commonly abused. Employers will deny an employee their deserved wages or refuse to pay them altogether, which stifles their earning capacity and hurts company morale. Your time is valuable, and you should be compensated fairly for your effort.

Every industry is different, so overtime violations can vary greatly. Here’s a list of a few common overtime lawsuits we handle:

• Wage theft: This occurs when an employer denies an employee their deserved pay. The Texas Wage Theft Act offers protection against this, and it also prevents an employer from partially paying an employee to avoid paying out their full wage.
• Failure to pay minimum wage: The FLSA requires employers to pay their workers at a rate greater than or equal to the $7.25 per hour minimum. While states may differ on their minimum wage, Texas law mirrors the federal standard.
• Improper time tracking: Some employers will incorrectly track the hours of their workers to avoid paying an overtime rate. Asking employees to perform tasks after they’ve clocked out, forcing an employee to work through their lunch break, and mandating an employee be “on call” when not on a scheduled shift are all examples of this unethical strategy.
• Tip pooling: Occupations that receive tips fall under a different minimum wage rate. These employees rely on these tips, as their base pay doesn’t provide a liveable wage. An employer who improperly pools tips or distributes them unevenly is in violation of labor laws.

You deserve to be paid fairly for the time you spent on the job. We at Morgan & Morgan understand how frustrating overtime violations can be to an employee, and we’re here to help you secure your full and fair compensation.

Complete a free, no-risk case evaluation today and see why there’s only one Morgan & Morgan.