Overtime Lawsuits

Non-exempt employees who were denied overtime pay can file an overtime lawsuit in federal or state court. The worker may be eligible to recover back pay, an equal amount in liquidated damages and prejudgment interest.

Overtime lawsuits should not be pursued alone. If you have been denied overtime at your job, fill out our free case evaluation form. Our overtime lawyers will evaluate your claim, at no cost to you, to determine your eligibility for an overtime lawsuit.

A worker can recover unpaid overtime wages for the two-year period prior to filing the claim. He or she can also collect overtime earned while the lawsuit is pending. If the company is held liable, they may also have to cover attorney fees.

Employer Record Keeping

Many overtime lawsuits are won simply because the employer failed to keep accurate time records for their employees. Employers must keep wage and hour records for every worker under their employ. Information that employers must keep on each employee includes:

• The time and day when the workweek starts
• Number of hours worked during each workday and workweek
• Total wages for each pay period
• Date of payment
• Period covered by each payment
• Total overtime worked in each workweek

If an employer fails to keep these records, they may have a hard time disproving an employee's overtime claim in court.

Employer Retaliation

Under federal law, employers cannot fire or retaliate against employees who file overtime lawsuits. If employer retaliation has occurred, the employer can be held liable, both civilly and criminally, for their illegal actions. Some examples of employer retaliation include:

• Withholding wages
• Firing the employee for no reason
• Refusing an expected raise
• Placing the employee on undesired shifts
• Giving the worker undesired or lesser job duties
• Giving negative performance reviews
• Irrationally disciplining an employee

If your employer retaliated against you for filing an overtime lawsuit, you may be eligible to collect overtime damages. Contact our overtime lawyers today to find out how you can hold your employer accountable for their illegal actions.