There are several issues that the employees face at the workplace and those issues need to be addressed and if required a legal action should be considered. Several times, the employees are oblivious of the overtime that they do to which the employer fails to pay them those overtime wages. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are bound to pay the eligible employees an overtime premium of 150% of their regular hourly wages if they have worked over 40 hours in a week. If you feel that you have not been paid for that, consider consulting an overtime lawyer Los Angeles to seek necessary advice.
When you consult the overtime lawyer Los Angeles, he helps you determine whether your case can be filed as a lawsuit against the employer and what can be the best course of action in this situation. Here’s what all things the overtime lawyers can help you with.
The lawyer will analyze whether your employer broke the law
This is going to be the first thing that the lawyer will look for whether your employer broke the law or not. As per the federal and state laws, the lawyer will ensure the situation in which you were denied the overtime pay if you worked for over 40 hours during that week.
Lawyer’s job to look for the loopholes
Even if the employer has refused to pay overtime because according to him, he didn’t let the employee work overtime. Thus, in this case, the lawyer will look for the loopholes through which your employer must have broken the law. There might be ways like docking hours or not keeping the records of the accurate time or making the employees work off the clock, not including bonuses while finalizing the employees’ regular rate, and many more. At times the employer also classifies the employee as exempt in a wrong manner so that they do not get eligible for the overtime pay. There are many more intricacies to it that only an overtime lawyer will be able to analyze.
Giving you options
It is the important job of the lawyer to give you certain options that you can consider for your case. That is why it is recommended to first speak to your lawyer before you arrive at any decision. You get the apt guidance to how you can raise the complaint with the employer and what all evidence you are going to need that would act supportive for your claims. Along with that, you should also keep a record of the time that you have worked overtime so that you are sure about the fact that your employer did not pay you for the overtime.
Lawyer’s knowledge and experience is of big help
A knowledgeable and experienced lawyer has all the expertise in the world that can help you with the case. The lawyers have dedicated several years to gain legal knowledge and they know what works the best for your case. Right from all the paperwork, deadlines, court documents, they are going to guide you with every little step.
Determining whether you need to file a claim
You must know that there is a limit of time if you have decided to file the overtime wages claim. You must ensure that you are filing the claim within two years from the date of the violation or when you came to know that the law has been violated. If your employer has intentionally breached the overtime law, then in that case you get a time limit of three years. Therefore, in such situations, only an overtime lawyer will be able to help you decide if you should file for a claim or not and how your employer stood you up from paying you the overtime wages.
The bottom line is, always hire an overtime lawyer, if you feel that your employer has violated any law that has kept you deprived of the wages. And being an employee, you must be aware of your rights and how they should be protected. With the help of an overtime lawyer, you will surely be able to clear all the mess that the employer has caused you.
