Fair Labor Standards Act: Wages and Hours
What is the FLSA? Our New Haven County Employment Lawyer Provides an Overview.
Need an attorney for Fair Labor Standards Act in New Haven? The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is a federal statute that protects the rights of employees to receive their pay according to the specific guidelines contained in the law. It also establishes a national minimum wage, overtime pay, and youth employment standards (prohibiting "oppressive child labor", as defined in the statute).
The purpose of youth provisions is to safeguard the educational opportunities of minors and protect them from unhealthy or hazardous work conditions. Although each state has its own laws concerning minimum wage, the federal minimum wage as of July 24, 2009, is $7.25 per hour. The United States Department of Labor states:
"Covered nonexempt employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per workweek (any fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours - seven consecutive 24-hour periods) at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay."
For more information on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), call our New Haven employment discrimination lawyers today at (203) 285-8294!
Common Violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act
- Time and Overtime – An employer must pay a non-exempt employee for the full time at the workplace, not just the amount of time that the employer decides is correct.
- Lunch and Breaks – An employer is required to pay for breaks less than 20 minutes. Any time an employer interrupts a break over 20 minutes demanding an employee perform work-related responsibilities, there may be a violation of the FLSA.
- Working off the clock – Whether an employer orders an employee to attend work on a day off or clocks the employee out for lunch while still performing job duties, he or she has violated the FLSA.
- Working from home – An employer must pay an employee for performing work from home, as long as the environment is equipped for the job. When an employer refuses to allow an employee time to study for work-related exams, he or she must compensate the extra study time it takes the employee outside of work.
- Salaried Employees – For non-exempt employees paid on a salary basis and work over 40 hours a week, the employer must pay for the extra time (with few exceptions).
- Independent contractors – If treated as a regular employee (strict orders, work schedule, etc.) and given a 1099 tax form after a year, there is a possibility the employer may owe overtime pay because the worker is actually an employee, not an independent contractor.
- On call time – An employer must pay for the time he or she confines an employee to a designated on call location.
- Commissions and bonuses – When an employer has not paid an employee additional overtime compensation because of any received commission or any periodic bonuses corresponding with a program, the employer has violated the FLSA.
Searching for a lawyer for a Fair Labor Standards Act case in New Haven?
If your employer is in violation of these or any other terms of the Fair Labor Standards Act, you may be able to recover certain unpaid overtime and other compensation. These can be difficult situations, and how they are managed is important. Many are concerned about their job should they take action. Our firm is very aware of how best to address these issues and protect you from the potential stress and difficulty you could face at work, and will move forward carefully, with your interests and future as our focus. Attorney Axelrod has achieved many favorable results for clients in his employment discrimination practice. We also represent clients in New Haven, Stamford, Branford, Meriden, Waterbury and Bridgeport.
If you are the victim of FLSA violations, contact our New Haven County employment discrimination attorneys with over 47 years of experience!