Fair Labor Standards Act: How May It Affect You?

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Baltimore, MD FLSA Attorney

If you think that your employer owes you money for working overtime, a Baltimore, MD FLSA attorney may be able to help you.

You may have heard of the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA over the course of your working career. You may even know that it provides some protection for workers, sets standards and requirements for employers in regard to pay. You probably need to know more than that if you think that your rights may be being violated. It is always best to consult with an experienced Baltimore, MD FLSA attorney who can address the specific facts of your situation to help you determine whether you should seek legal action to get the pay you deserve. In the meantime, however, here are a few frequently asked questions:

• What is the Fair Labor Standards Act? The FLSA is a 1938 federal law that provides protection for workers, including the establishment of a minimum wage and the placement of restrictions on child labor. The FLSA has been amended to keep up with our changing society, providing more comprehensive protection for modern workers.
• Do I Qualify for Protections Under the Fair Labor Standards Act? The FLSA does not apply to some employees, including some types of salaried employees, managers, and independent contractors. Unfortunately, the answer to whether you are protected under the FLSA often depends on the specific duties of your job and is up for interpretation under several “exemption tests.”

Reasonable people can theoretically disagree on whether an employee qualifies for FLSA protection. For this reason, it can be easy for employers to classify employees as “exempt” from FLSA protection, even if there may be a good argument for why you should qualify. If you think your employer has incorrectly classified you as “exempt,” call an experienced Baltimore, MD FLSA attorney today, who can help you assess your case.

• Why Does It Matter that I’m Covered Under the Fair Labor Standards Act? The FLSA provides many employee protections, but one of the most important and practical protections for workers is the entitlement of employees to overtime pay. Essentially, the FLSA says that employees who work more than 40 hours in a week are entitled to pay at a higher rate for any additional hours worked. The FLSA also sets a minimum amount for overtime pay; it must be at a rate of at least 1.5 times your regular pay rate. If you are regularly working more than 40 hours a week but are not seeking overtime pay, you should strongly consider consulting with a Baltimore, MD FLSA attorney.
• What Can I Do if I Think My Employer is Denying Me Overtime Pay? If you think that your employer has either misclassified you as exempt from the FLSA or if you think that your employer has denied you overtime pay to which you are entitled, you should consult with a Baltimore, MD FLSA attorney to consider legal action. Your attorney will likely ask you to gather documents that outline your case, such as a job posting describing the duties of your job, performance evaluations that list your duties, pay stubs showing your hours worked, copies of any employment contract dictating the terms of your employment, and other documentation of the hours you worked compared with the hours for which you were paid.

If you need a highly rated Baltimore, MD FLSA attorney to help you get your employer to pay you the wages you deserve, contact Cohen & Cohen for a free and confidential case evaluation.