Do I have a case regarding a right to back overtime pay?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Do I have a case regarding a right to back overtime pay?
When I started for a company I was homeless. They gave me a tent to sleep in and told me after the first week they would pay me salary and give me a house. After the week they let me move in to the house and paid me $609 a week. After a month, they gave me a letter stating the house was not part of my pay and they could kick me out at anytime. That’s when I quit. I then found an article that states the minimum pay for overtime exemption was raised to $913 a week 6 months ago. Does this mean the company owes me overtime pay for 44 hours a week? Also, they only gave us 1 30 minute break for lunch on a 12 hour shift. With no accessible bathrooms at the shops.
Asked on May 4, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
The increase in salary for the overtime exemption never went into effect: a judge (in Texas, I think) stopped it. The salary level for overtime stayed at approximately $23,600/year, or a bit over $400 per week. So your pay was over that threshold. That said, you *still* may have been owed an overtime premium for when you worked more than 40 hours per week: being paid a sufficient salary is only part of the test for whether overtime is due or not. To be exempt from overtime, your job duties and responsibilities must meet one or or more of the sets of criteria for exemptions, such as the administrative employee exemption, professional exemption, executive (really, "mangerial") exemption, etc. You can find those exemptions on the U.S. Department of Labor website: look them up and compare to your job. If your job did not meet at least one of them, then despite being paid a high-enough salary, you may be owed overtime. If you think that is the case, contact your state or the federl Dept. of Labor to inquire about filing an overtime complaint.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.