The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (NCWHA) requires employers to pay their workers no less than minimum wage. Additionally, employers are required to pay their employees overtime for all hours worked over 40 hours. Overtime is equal to one and one-half times the regular wage rate. However, the FLSA and NCWHA does not protect everyone. There are many exemptions from the general rules. If your employer is not paying you minimum wage or overtime in violation of federal or North Carolina law, contact the employment law attorneys at Maginnis Howard or submit a confidential new case inquiry here.
Generally, federal law does not require employers to provide meal or rest periods. However, if a company does provide a short break, the FLSA requires the company to count that time as compensable work hours. Under the FLSA, companies must treat any required “pre” and “post” work activities as compensable time. Examples include preparing tools or work surfaces, cleaning tools or work surfaces, and meeting at a central location for transportation to a job site.
Even if an employee makes a large salary and has a job description as a manager, this does not necessarily mean that the person is exempt from overtime pay. Additionally, an employee cannot agree to waive his or her overtime rights. For example, an agreement that stipulates that only 8 hours a day, or 40 hours per week, will be counted as work violates the law. If an employee works over 40 hours per week, overtime must be paid.
Many employers attempt to avoid paying overtime by misclassifying employees as exempt. FLSA exemptions are applied only to those employees that clearly fall within the “spirit and terms” of the exemption. Therefore, FLSA exemptions are narrowly construed against employers who classify their employees as exempt. The employer has the burden of proving the employee is properly classified as exempt.
If you are not getting paid overtime contact the employment attorneys at Maginnis Law at (919) 526-0450 for a free consultation regarding your rights. Maginnis Howard is a Raleigh civil litigation firm whose attorneys handle cases throughout Wake County, Cary, Apex, Durham, Vance County, and Henderson. The firm takes certain wage and hour/overtime cases throughout North Carolina, particularly when groups of workers are involved. Contact the firm to discuss your overtime claim today.
