Wage and Hour
(Unpaid Wages and Overtime)

Has your employer requested or required that you work more than forty hours per week and failed to pay you overtime pay?

Wage and hour and overtime laws are regulated by a Federal law called the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In addition, the State of Florida has a similar law which covers wage and hour laws governing unpaid wages and overtime. Employees who are covered under the law, are required to be paid in full for all hours worked plus at least 1 1/2 times their hour salary for all hours worked in excess of 40 per week. Unfortunately, in some instances, company greed or ignorance can prevent you from receiving the full amount of overtime pay you are entitled to.

The following are guidelines to help you determine if you are not being fully compensated for your overtime work:

• You are requested or demanded to work "off the clock" ;


• Your timesheet is altered to reflect no overtime, even though you worked overtime;


• You are denied overtime because it was not approved in advance by your manager or supervisor;


• You are paid at only your base hourly wage even though you worked overtime;


• You are told to put your hours down on the following week or granted comp time for your overtime hours;

You may also have a claim for unpaid wages for the following common violations:

• You are paid less than minimum wage ($7.25 per hour in Florida);


• Your employer fails to pay you for any portion of the total hours your have worked;


• You receive more than minimum wage, however, your employer demands that you perform additional tasks before and after you clock in for work for which you are not paid;


• You are denied breaks or meal time even though you are entitled to them;


• You are not paid for getting ready for work or for cleaning up your work space after work, even though both may be a requirement;


• You are automatically clocked out for breaks and lunch, whether you take them or not;

The Legal Assistance Center assists individuals, small groups, and large class actions of workers who are not receiving their entitled overtime. Our consumer protection lawyers fight to enforce the wage and hour laws outlined in the FLSA and the State of Florida, and your rights.