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One of the most common complaints is workers who fail to get overtime pay as required by law.
There’s a simple workplace axiom: You put in your hours and get paid for them. Alas, this doesn’t always happen.
There’s been a record spike in wage and hour violation claims by employees thanks to sustained tough economic times, an increase in enforcement by the government, and confusion over -- or disregard of -- overtime pay provisions.
Seyfarth Shaw
Wage and hour lawsuits have been soaring, according to federal judicial caseload statistics.
Already this year, there have been a record number of lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which covers wage and hour provisions, with 7,064 filed so far this year. That's up from 7,006 filed for all of 2011 and just 2,035 cases filed a decade ago, according to data compiled by employment law firm Seyfarth Shaw.
The Department of Labor's wage and hour division collected a record $224 million in back wages from employers in the latest fiscal year for more than 275,000 workers.
“Many workers still have a hard time taking advantage of their legal protections,” said Jeffrey Michael Hirsch, associate professor at the University of North Carolina’s law school and a contributing editor to the Workplace Prof Blog. “Low-wage employees, in particular, often don't earn enough to attract attorneys, although class actions might help in some cases, so you see a lot of cases of unremedied wage theft.”
In those cases, he said, the Labor Department sometimes gets involved, especially to "send a message to employers."
The Labor Department, which sees 125 to 150 cases annually, has stepped up its efforts and pursues litigation when it cannot settle out of court, said Sonia Melendez, a spokeswoman for the agency.
“The wage and hour division has stepped up enforcement efforts on behalf of vulnerable workers — such as low-wage workers, migrant or seasonal laborers, workers with limited English language skills and workers who are unaware of their rights or are reluctant to file a complaint when subject to labor violations,” she said.
The bulk of wage and hour lawsuits deal with misclassification of employees, alleged uncompensated ‘work’ performed off the clock and miscalculation of overtime pay, said Richard Alfred, an attorney and chairman of Seyfarth Shaw's wage and hour litigation practice.
He attributes the rise in lawsuits to:
- Weakness of the economy, resulting in layoffs
- Outdated federal and state laws, which have failed to keep up with changes in technology
- A lack of clarity in existing law, making it difficult to classify which workers need to be paid for overtime
- Potential for lucrative recovery by plaintiffs and their attorneys
High-profile cases, such as a wage and hour case involving Wal-Mart, have gotten many employees, employers and lawyers to stand up and take notice.
In May, Wal-Mart agreed to pay nearly $5 million in back wages and damages to more than 4,500 employees who were misclassifed as being exempt from overtime rules. That paled in comparison to the $352 million the company paid in 2008 to settle allegations it didn't provide workers with proper rest and meal breaks but served notice that the Labor Department is paying close attention.
“Misclassification of employees as exempt from FLSA coverage is a costly problem with adverse consequences for employees and corporations,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis at the time of the announcement. “Let this be a signal to other companies that when violations are found, the Labor Department will take appropriate action to ensure that workers receive the wages they have earned.”
Massive monetary awards have increased the profile of such cases, making them attractive to some lawyers, Hirsch said. But he said the awards also have made smart employers more careful. "One thing a lot of management-side firms do is perform internal audits for clients to make sure there aren't problems, particularly with overtime classifications," he said.
Not everyone is as focused on the issue, he added. “I'd like to think that employers of low-wage workers are getting the message, but I'm not sure that's the case in general. You still hear about violations all the time.”
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I'm in a union (and before you jump on me I get paid crap and my benefits suck) and if I work overtime I can't get paid for it unless I get special permission from the union ahead of time. I worked overtime recently and was told I wasn't going to get paid, but my boss is nice and gave me unofficial comp time. She would probably get int trouble for it, too.
What Union do you belong to?
If you have to "clear overtime" with the union, it is part of their contract with the company and there to ensure that management distributes OT on an equitable basis.
And, yes...your boss would probably get into trouble for breaking a contractual (and legal) agreement.
This also contributes to the deficit by not taxing overtime wages . Another reason our economy is in trouble .
mike
your waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
of base
To all of you who are blaming republicans.......Why then, are you sitting around waiting for those "mean, disgusting, rotten" people to make you happy? Why are you all just sitting around waiting for them to "give" you a job?
And, why are you all praying a hoping that some schmuck in Washington can control your life, run your business and spend your money better than you can?
I'm confused.........
You are very right. I dont expect them to give me a job, or think they owe me one. I just want a level playing field, I just want the IRS to quit watching me like a hawk because my tax rules are simple (YOU GET NOTHING) and theirs are complex (HERE IS 20K PAGES, NOW GO AWAY IRS ITS TOO COMPLICATED). I dont want the GOVERNMENT TO FORCE me to invest in 401K (give my money to a bank so they can drive the Cadillac until I am 65 and give it back old and used, and not pay taxes on it) and then on top of it, tell me I invested in a AAA company only to find out half my money is gone because the AAA fund was investing in mortgage derivatives. Its not that we expect that they owe us, its that we expect they do not intentionally destroy us.
C'mon Bernie, the fries are burning & the burgers need cheese. Quit playing on the computer & get back to work!!!! :O
confused?
no people are conditioned
and in a state of denial
listen to all the lyrics to "this is my land ,this is your land" by woody guthrie
Hay!
home come we didn't sing that part in school?
cause music time was only 12 minutes?
ahh-no
I can remember a time when my ex husband was constantly being short changed ( he was an OTR driver ). The payroll guy had all kinds of awards for his work and I found them all to be laughable. I ( like the wife I am ) was tired of his working so hard and not getting paid for it that I let it go on for about another 2 months all the while keeping track. My husband did not want to rock the boat and I wanted the $2000 plus that he was owed. So we went together with all the paperwork to the on sites MANAGER. He was furious. He ordered all of my husband's logs for the entire previous year. They recalculated everything and we walked out with a $5000 plus check! Here's the thing, it is usually NOT the boss who is shortchanging you. It is the payroll guy who is looking for pats on the back for saving the company. Don't be afraid to go to the boss!
bull$hit
A very pigeon holed view.
BS
If it was so easy for you to get your husband paid, why didn't your husband take his log and pay stub to his manager the first time they were incorrect? Oh that's right he didn't want to rock the boat. I think it was because he was a pu$$y, and he proved that when he took you with him to complain, it's kind of like a mother complaining to her sons little league coach about playing time, causing all his little friends to tease him as a mama's boy.
people aren't afraid "of going to the boss"
people fear the fear
once you get a bloody nose-its game on
You Frances (and I say this with respect)
have balls!
ps - thats what its gonna take
fellas
when mitch mcConnells wife was labor secretary, labor never had a chance. this women hated working people. she should have headed up the chamber of commerce who never saw a worker they liked. Now with Democrats in the White House workers filed empowered to say something when they are cheated out of pay. Before they knew they would lose their jobs because they had no voice. Unions give people a voice on the job. Idiots who get on here and say the time for Unions has passed then read articles such as this one? It is the most ignorant statement a working person could make is that they don't need a Union. Pick up one Ruler and snap it into, now pickup 20 Rulers and try to snap them into. Thats what Unions are for to unite the workforce for strength. American jobs will continue to erode benefits and wages and dignity and fairness and safety until Unions again become supreme in the workplace. Pres. Obama and V.Pres Biden need to do more then lip service Unions. They need to push legislation to level the playing fields.
Unions demand a high noncompetitive labor rate, and when businesses find that they can't afford that rate or they can get a lower rate somewhere else, the business will either move or close.
I know this first hand as I lived near Detroit and saw many businesses close due mostly because of high wages.
Yeah, but the minute they move offshore, they should be tariffed to the point that the Union wages don't look so bad.
Chris
That would be about the worst thing we could do to our economy.
Right now we couldn't put tariffs on imports if we wanted to because of free trade agreements we have with almost all of our trading partners.
When those agreements expire, and we put excessive tariffs on imported goods those countries involved will put tariffs on our exports to the extent that we won't be able to export anything. Our trading partners are more ruthless than we are and could bring our economy to it's knees.
Basically say goodbye to more jobs.
Say it aint' so.
Business complain about the laws all the time.
Why wouldn't they follow laws?
Ungrateful employees.
SARCASM alert.
Be careful of what you wish for!
As an employer, my company is pretty flexible with our employee's. Our coffee breaks turn into 20-30 min. when we only owe 10 min. Lunch is 35-40 min. when we only owe 30 min. It's funny that everyone heads for the bathroom right after lunch instead of during lunch! With the communication today, employee's are on cell phone's during working hours talking to family or Joe's car service. I know people that are on computer's that do on-line shopping, banking and face-book on the employer's nickle. I know where these people work and see what time of the day they are posting.
The minute I get nickle and dimed, I will shut down the flexibility of this company!
I guess that means my profits should rise!
Again, there are companies that let employee's have some limited freedom during the day so be careful what you wish for.
Yeah thats the other side, MANY people dont really work. As I stated earlier, they dont allow the employee to be capitalists, let them finish their work, prove it, and go home early with the same pay as the person sitting their all day. Then you will see the goofing off stop, or at least you wont have to pay for it, or make the others suffer. If you have to be here for x number of hours anyways, what capitalist motivating factor would make you NOT goof off on your cell phone?
Case in point, I am not working now. I will have to work a bit later, but the break is good and I dont mind.
I believe in a bonus system for my hard workers that produce and have good work ethics. We just gave $3,000 to each team member of a six man crew that did just that! Quality, on time and under budget!
And that will make you successful as well, let the free market work for them too. There is nothing that makes you not care a rats arse about your employer than a dull stagnant communist wage that stays the same no matter what you do. It doesnt have to be money either, when you are strapped, it can be a day off, or extra lunch or leave an hour early every Friday for the next x number of weeks. As long as its commensurate with your demands (not a magnet that says I am a team player after putting in 800 extra hours), it will motivate them and your productivity will increase.
Next time, instead of complaining, ask yourself, what you can do about it. It will be therapeutic. Why should they pay you more? If they can make you work double and cut your salary in half tomorrow, it would probably make sense to do so.
I've always heard the Wal Marts like for their 'eager beaver jr executive associates' to give alittle extra effort for that great job thats looming out there in the future for them. Some of these idiots actually buy into this $hit. They work through break and rat on their fellow 'associates' and generally keep their nose stuck up their bosses a$$. Then after a few years of eager beaver jr. executive role playing and ratting they finally get it that they have been used. The Waltons bank a few more million off shore and this claude helped and got jack $hit nothing. Good job lil eager beaver jr executive.
And his wife is sleeping with the neighbor and he has to wear a pacemaker at age 45 and pay alimony to the "musician" that his wife is living with now. I am not a religious person, but that makes me think, there is a god.
I had the good fortune of getting a promotion this year. This "promotion" brought me up to the next grade level which does not receive overtime pay. At the lower grade level, I could count on at least $10k in overtime pay every year. My promotion was on paper only ... I did not receive a larger salary with the move to a higher level. I now make the same salary and still work the overtime ... FOR FREE.
I hope these employees rob them blind.
I see companies have found a way to profit more from thier employees,, they short change the employee to keep that money in their bank account and gets interest on that money then when the employee sees a short pay them.
The company should pay the employee an interest for using their money to make money.
Can I put in a COMPLAINT that CONGRESS is NOT UP to STANDARD and they should be FIRED. They are steeling MY TAX DOLLARS for DOING NOTHING for the PEOPLE !!
They owe me for NOT WORKING !!!
have you received any communique from (your?)
congress person ? on a subject thats a bit more than
whats your favorite color?
no?
has any one got written (e-mail) correspondence on a real issue.
with a real answer, other than
I appreciate and thank you for contacting me (thats the first lie)
I'm dedicated to this country...bla-bla
(hiding behind the skirt of the constitution)
rest assured that bla-bla and with my experience bla-bla (appeal to authority)
and its a form letter
I get shortchanged from Uncle Scam and Jew York with taxation. It seems any OT bumps me into a higher tax bracket.
its your attitude
My wife was working OT for her company and they refused to pay her. I contacted corporate and told them we have an attorney ready to file a suit against them including a discrimination suit...
One week later she received all back pay including interest. To this day, they haven't under paid her.
In today's economy, a lot of employers take the position that since you are just so darn lucky to even have a job, they can throw out all kinds of hurdles and expect you to jump over them without so much as raising an eyebrow, let alone a complaint.
didnt I say slavery and prostitution earlier?
This surge in the theft of overtime wages is no anomoly, it is part of the future of labor in America. Wealthy corporations and individuals, individuals such as the Koch brothers, ALEC, the US Chamber of Commerce and their political right wing enablers have an agenda. Over the past 2 years they have succeeded in pitting neighbor against neighbor, family member against family member by starting a war between the private and public sector. They want to crush organized labor period, remove it as a roadblock to their reforms. Once that has occurred, under the guise of competing globally, they will convince American workers that it is necessary, in their best interests, to lower wages, benefits, roll back or repeal workplace protection laws, minimum wage, overtime, etc. Their goal is to continue to transfer wealth from the bottom to the top. They want it all.
This story is a direct result of American employers taking advantage of the current "just be happy you have a job" environment. They are simply getting a headstart in implementing the "reforms" to come.
Just last summer Republicans in the house held hearings about repealing the minimum wage law and changing overtime rules. Right wing organizations are on record with their desire to eliminate Unemployment Insurance and Worker's Compensation.
Pay attention, this WILL be the future of labor in America if we allow the right wing to take control of government, I have no doubt.
"Right wing organizations are on record with their desire to eliminate Unemployment Insurance and Worker's Compensation."
That is BS, show the records. Because that is BS, it's most likely everything you say is BS.
You are correct about the GOP & its ploy to destroy the middle class. Look at legislation Bush forced through in 2004-2005 to reclassify workers to eliminate paid overtime. It is a direct threat to the middle, when your boss can force you to work extra hours without the pay, backed by Republican legislation....
domd
What exactly, was that legislation.
The new regulations make a number of changes that affect the FLSA classification of many employees, shifting some from exempt to nonexempt and others from nonexempt to exempt. The law primarily affects those making over $100k/yr... surely lower middle class by Republican standards...
"white collar" exemption regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA")
@JohnnyOnTheSpot. Here's an example, an extreme one. Follow the dots. A woman named Sarah Humphreys Atkins first came to my attention when she and her family donated $500,000 to Scott Walker. They run Tamko Building Products in Joplin, MO. Her mother, Ethelmae C. Humphreys, sits on the Board of Directors of the Cato Institute, the conservative think tank founded and funded by the Koch brothers. Sarah, her mother and her brother David are members of the Koch brothers "$1 Million Club" meaning they have donated at least $1 million to David and Charles Koch.
Sarah Humphreys Atkins was co-founder, with David Koch, of Citizens for a Sound Economy. In 2004 CSE split into FreedomWork and Americans for Prosperity. The Koch founded and funded AFP is the primary force behind the Tea Party. Sarah also sits on the Board of the Charles G. Koch Foundation.
Sarah sits on the Board of Directors of the Future of Freedom Foundation. The FFE advocates for the REPEAL of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, all social welfare programs, immigration laws, economic regulations including UI and WC, drug laws, gun control and public schools.
If the republicans win big in Nov, 2012 all workers should expect this scam to increase 100%. The republican philosophy is profit by any means possible. Ten years down the line our workers will be equal as the workers in Haiti.
Come up with some facts to back up that mouth!
brooklyn41
Of course you're full of it. When the GOP wins we will at least have more jobs.
Johnny, if you and your ilk would stop protesting Planned Parenthood, and get a job this wouldn't be a problem for you. Don't never fear, the repugs will not win in Nov.
De2Or2010
What does PPH have to do with this topic? You are just another left winger who can't make a rational point, so you change topics when you know your position is wrong.
De2
Be careful you might have to eat those words! Could be quite filling!
Truthhurts, If you're still on here....I don't want to say what union but I do work for the state.
Corporations don't want to pay overtime because they give large sums of money to politicians.
My God!!! What an enlightening comment. Are you aware that Odumba gets huge contributions from Corporations and unions?
Let's give the rich more tax breaks so they can continue to "not hire" employees and abuse the ones they have. Many employers are not hiring full time employees, instead they are over working existing employees with little or no compensation and/or hiring part time "contract" employees so they don't have to pay benefits. Meanwhile they are amassing huge amounts of cash and are giving even bigger bonuses to executive staff who pay little or nothing for taxes as do the corporations! Got to love the GOP for wanting to protect the rich tax breaks so they can "create" jobs....NOT
Obama gave all the stimulus monies to the top people, Big Business, Banks, Wall Street bailouts,ect.
If he had put the monies at the bottom, like creating school projects around the country, he would of put many material producers, suppliers and installers to work.
God only knows that every town and city in the US could use new school facilities.
These monies would of produced income tax and profit tax and still would of made it's way back to the top. Just in a more beneficial way. Instead, it stayed at the top! Also, our children would of have state of the art schools to learn in to compete with the world! Imagine that.......
This has been going on for YEARS like a decade - especially in IT.
They want you available 24/7 on a pager or whatever but continue performing your regular hours. NO COMPENSATION typically.
No repsect
EXTRA hours dedidcation to work but no compensation or good pay raises.
They take full advantage of anything they can.
They talk sweet though .......
Human beings must be the slowest learners on the face of the earth! Given the slightest opportunity to exploit an advantage they grab it, and never seem to consider the ramifications of their actions. The people who are exploiting employees are the same people who complain about unions, never considering that it was these same kinds of abuses that created unions in the first place. Then, when unions gain the advantage, they play the same "pile on" games. Humans are supposed to have the most intelligence of all the species, yet we just can't seem to grasp the concepts of common sense, fairness, working together, and planning for the future. We are still in the same stage of development as any number of animal species that grab what they can, while they can, even if it means jeopardizing the future.
Isn't life in a conservatively big business cesspool loads of fun?
And profitable, too, if you are part of the 1%.
most that are under paid dont say any thing for fear of lossing there jobs.