fbpx
Gunter Firm Attorney

Overtime Law

Has your past or even current employer failed to properly pay you overtime? Fort Myers overtime lawyer Jason L. Gunter has recovered millions in unpaid wages on behalf of employees.

Jason handles overtime cases on a contingency fee basis . . . No Fees or Costs unless you win! Contact Florida Employment Attorney Jason L. Gunter immediately at his Fort Myers location at 239.334.7017 or Jason@gunterfirm.com regarding your overtime case.

About Florida and Federal Overtime Law

The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) is a federal law that requires employers to pay most employees overtime pay according to the following rule:

Time and one half their regular pay rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek
(Example: $10 per hour should be $15.00 per hr for each our over 40 hrs)

What Amount Of Money Can I Recover?

Under the FLSA, eligible employees not paid overtime in the past may be entitled to:

  • “Back Wages” for the full amount of overtime pay owed by the employer, plus;
  • “Liquidated Damages” or double damages in the same amount as the past overtime wages (Example: Recover $10,000 in overtime then recover an addition $10,000 in Liquidated Damages).
  • “Attorneys’ Fees & Costs” – The FLSA requires employers to pay the employee’s fees & costs if the employer loses the lawsuit. We handle cases on a contingency fee basis and seek attorney’s’ fees and costs from the employer.

OVERTIME MYTH: An employee who is paid a salary is exempt from FLSA overtime

This is false. Just because your employer pays you a salary does not mean that you are not entitled to overtime. While there are some overtime exemptions under the FLSA when an employee is paid a salary, employers often misuse the exemptions and improperly misclassify the employee as “salaried exempt”.

Salaried employees almost never legally pursue their unpaid overtime because they assume that if they are paid a salary, they are not entitled to overtime. If you were paid a salary, but still worked more than 40 hours in any week, you should contact our Fort Myers office for a free overtime consultation with an overtime lawyer. We can quickly analyze your duties to determine if you were misclassified.

Common Overtime Violations

There is no substitution for paying employees overtime pay. Often times, Florida employers attempt to avoid paying proper overtime by providing alternate methods of compensation or using accounting tricks to avoid proper compensation. Common overtime violations of the FLSA include:

  • Employer refuses to pay employees any overtime as a company policy.
  • Improperly classifying employees as “salary exempt”, when, in fact, they should be paid for working overtime.
  • Paying “straight time” pay (or continuation of the regular pay rate) instead of time and one half the employee’s regular rate.
  • Not compensating employees for “prep time” spent setting up, or time spent finishing up a work day.
  • Not compensating employees for “drive time”, or time spent driving to or from the workplace to a job site or from a job site to the workplace.
  • Improperly classifying an employee as an “independent contractor” to avoid paying overtime.
  • Allowing employees to accumulate additional paid time off, such as vacation time or “Comp time” in place of paying proper overtime.
  • Telling employees to clock out of work to avoid exceeding forty hours.
  • Substituting periodic bonuses in exchange for paying proper overtime.

OVERTIME MYTH: An employee who does not track time cannot recover overtime because it is impossible to determine the number of overtime hours worked

This is FALSE! The FLSA puts the obligation on the employer to track and maintain time. If no time records are kept, the law permits the employee to estimate the number of overtime hours worked. This most often occurs when an employer improperly designates an employee as salaried exempt and no time records are kept.

Fort Myers overtime attorney Jason L. Gunter often represents and assists employees who need to recreate their time. Our Florida labor lawyers can do this with a number of tools, including work schedules, emails, and the employees own testimony.

The Department of Labor requires that all employers maintain accurate records for overtime eligible employees as follow:

  • Employee’s full name, address, DOB, gender and occupation
  • Time and day of week when employee’s workweek begins
  • Hours worked each day
  • Total hours worked each workweek
  • Method by which employee wages are paid (hourly rate, salary amount, commission)
  • Regular hourly rate
  • Total weekly straight-time earnings
  • Total weekly overtime earnings
  • All additions to or deductions from wages
  • Total wages paid each pay period
  • Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment

If I am Currently Employed, Can My Employer Terminate Me For Seeking Overtime?

NO!! It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against any employee for:

  • Complaining or protesting to a boss or supervisor because the individual is not being paid proper overtime; or
  • Filing a lawsuit for unpaid overtime against an employer.

How Long Do I Have To File An Overtime Claim Against My Employer?

The FLSA allows an employee to go back as many as 3 years to recover overtime. Florida employment law sometimes provides for an employee to seek wages beyond the 3 year period.

Do I have a case for Overtime?

Attorney Jason L. Gunter has experience in handling overtime cases in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Estero, Bonita Springs, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda (and all other areas of Lee County, Collier County, Charlotte County and Tampa).

Contact Jason Gunter to protect your legal rights and recover the full amount of overtime compensation that you are owed under the law. Call 239.334.7017, or email your questions to Jason@gunterfirm.com regarding your overtime case. You may also complete our online form which will immediately be forwarded to Jason’s Email.

Overtime cases are handled on a contingency fee basis . . . No Fees or Costs unless we win!

Hear What Our Clients Have To Say

"Jason is the best attorney and Conor too. Best experience of my life...thanks 😊 I would recommend Jason to anyone who needs a hard working, understanding, and thorough attorney!"
Sonya Flores

contact gunterfirm for immediate action

Call: (239) 334-7017

Same day response / Multi-lingual staff

OR
Gunter Firm

The Law Office of Jason L. Gunter, P.A. 2165 West First St., #104 Ft. Myers, FL 33901

Tel: (239) 334-7017 / Fax: (239) 236-8008

Fort Myers River District
Gunter Firm, Naples and Fort Myers Employment Law Firm

Do you want your case treated with

Dedication, Determination and Results?

YES, I DESERVE IT No thanks, I don't need help ×