New Obama initiative could help misclassified workers get overtime pay

April 12, 2014 (Press-News.org) Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are required to pay nonexempt workers an overtime rate for hours worked in excess of 40 during a given workweek. The overtime pay rate must be at least one and one-half times the employee's normal hourly wage.

There is no shortage of high profile unpaid overtime cases currently working their way through California courts. Hollywood has been no stranger to unpaid overtime cases, particularly among interns, but in a new suit filed in early 2014, a prominent video editor claimed he and other employees were denied proper overtime payments. Another recent overtime legal complaint concerns a Ventura County nursing home. Even McDonald's is having trouble with overtime: a recent spate of lawsuits filed in three states, including California, accuse the fast food restaurant of overtime and other labor law violations.

Now, according to a recent announcement from the Labor Department, President Obama will be launching a new directive aimed at making it easier for some workers to claim the overtime pay they should be receiving.

Manipulating exempt status can be easy under current laws

There are many ways an employer may skirt its obligation to pay overtime. It could be making employees work extra hours without recording them, or falsifying time records. But, one of the most common ways to dodge overtime pay requirements is employee misclassification.

Certain employees are exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. These employees are paid on a salary basis. To be correctly classified as exempt employees, workers generally must fall under certain categories, such as professional, executive, outside sales, computer or administrative employees. A worker's duties, skill level and authority are the primary considerations when determining whether he or she is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, the idea being that highly skilled and managerial employees do not need the wage protections given by this law.

While a worker's role is important in determining his or her classification as exempt or nonexempt, so is pay. Generally, those earning $100,000 or more annually are automatically considered exempt employees. Those making less than $23,660 a year ($455 per week) can never be considered exempt.

In March, President Obama signed a memorandum that will allow the Labor Department to investigate changes to expand the range of employees who are eligible for overtime. According to President Obama, many businesses are classifying even workers who make very little as administrative or professional in order to avoid paying overtime. By increasing the salary threshold for workers who can never be considered exempt, overtime pay could be guaranteed to thousands more workers in one fell swoop. This prospective change is unlikely to take effect until next year at the earliest.

Get overtime pay with the help of a California employment law attorney

If you are being denied overtime pay, the initiative from the Obama administration could help you eventually. But, while changes from the administration could come at some undetermined point in the future, they might not let you collect the overtime pay you are already due.

With the assistance of an employment law attorney, you may be able to recover past-due overtime pay through legal action. You may even be able to band together with other similarly situated workers to pursue a class action -- and it is important to know that your employer cannot retaliate against you for standing up for your rights. If you believe you may have been wrongfully denied pay, contact a California employment law attorney today to explore your legal options.

Article provided by Law Offices of Rheuban & Gresen
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