Florida actually does not have its own overtime law, meaning that it follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Federal overtime law can sometimes appear to be complicated and easily misunderstood, making it easier for employers to take advantage of employees. Whether it’s unintentional or an attempt to cut costs, employers violating overtime laws can find themselves in some seriously hot water.
Common Examples of Overtime Violations
- Salary – Many employers and employees alike wrongly assume that salaried workers are automatically exempt from earning overtime. However, if an employee’s salary pays less than $455 per workweek, then they are still eligible to accumulate overtime.
- Minimum Employees – Some small business owners think that if they have just a few employees that they are not covered by overtime laws, but there is no minimum employee count.
- Overtime Pay – Overtime pay is equal to time and a half, meaning that every hour worked past the standard 40 hour workweek is to be compensated at 1.5 times the employee’s regular pay.
- Deductions – Some employers try to deduct overtime pay by taking out time that should be paid. For example, small breaks, time spent driving to a job, time spent getting to a next job, or time spent prepared to answer a phone should be paid.
- Volunteer – Employers that ask workers to “volunteer” their time at work may also be in violation of overtime laws. Employers should be paying their employees for time spent working for the company.
- Compensatory Time – Occasionally, employers may offer workers the chance to earn PTO for overtime hours, but that may not be allowed depending on the job. Only some government jobs are allowed to earn comp time.
- Unauthorized – Employers have been known to completely delete overtime off of time sheets and claim that the overtime was not authorized. If an employer was aware or should reasonably have been aware of overtime hours you worked, then they have to pay you for it.
There are a variety of other ways that employers may violate overtime laws. An overtime lawyer can help you recover any unpaid wages if an employer is not paying you what you are owed.