Department of Labor Archives - Bober & Bober

Overtime Wage Protection Expanded

Samara Bober — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:30:10 +0000

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has finalized a new overtime wage rule that requires employers to pay overtime wages to employees making less than $913 per week or $47,476 per year. Employers would have to pay such employees time-and-a-half their regular hourly rate for any hours worked over forty (40) in a week. In determining if an employee’s salary meets the $47,476 threshold amount, employers can inlcude bonuses and incentive payments such as commissions, up to 10% of the new standard salary amount. The minimum salary threshold will be updated every three years. The new rule will take effect December 1, 2016.

Under the prior 2004 rule, workers making less than $23,660 annually or $455 per week were entitled to overtime pay. Under that lower salary amount of $455 per week, a fast food restaruant manager who earned a salary of $455 per week and worked 60 hours per week was making less than the Florida minimum wage per hour worked.

Estimates differ on the number of salaried employees affected by the new rule. The DOL estimates that an additional 4.2 million salaried employees will be eligible for overtime pay under the new rule. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates that 12.5 million salaried workers currently make at least $455 but less than $913 per week. http://www.epi.org/publication/who-benefits-from-new-overtime-threshold/ The new overtime pay rule is expected to affect the retail industry and restaurant industry the most. Managers who work overtime would now be eligible to receive overtime wages pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if they earn less than the $47,476 threshold salary amount.

If your employer or former employer fails to pay you overtime wages, call a wage attorney at Bober & Bober, P.A. at 800-995-9243 for a free consultation.

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Expanded Overtime Wage Protection

Samara Bober — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 17:59:36 +0000

Under a new United States Department of Labor (DOL) proposal to expand overtime wage protection, anyone making an annual salary of less than $50,440 automatically would be guaranteed overtime pay for hours worked over forty in a workweek. The overtime law requires covered employees to be paid time and one-half their regular rate for hours worked over forty in a workweek. This expanded overtime wage protection is a significant increase from the prior yearly salary threshold of $23,660, (which is equivalent to $455 per week). The $23,660 pay threshold for exclusion from overtime pay protection is less than the federal poverty line for a family of four. Under the proposal, workers making more than $50,440 annually, (which is the equivalent of $970 per week) would also still have to meet certain job duty requirements to be exempt from overtime pay. You can view a U.S. Department of Labor video explaining the change. This expanded overtime wage protection takes a significant step in curbing the abuse of salaried workers and limiting the exemption from overtime pay. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates an additional five million (5,000,000) workers will be entitled to overtime under the new rule, including convenience store managers, fast food managers, and some office workers. If your employer or former employer failed to pay you overtime wages, call a wage attorney at Bober & Bober, P.A. at 800-995-9243 for a free consultation.

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Study Finds Growing Wage Theft Problem in Florida

Samara Bober — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:27:58 +0000

A study by the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy, Center for Labor Research and Studies at Florida International University entitled “Wage Theft: An Economic Drain on Florida” found wage theft to be a growing and widespread problem in Florida. The Study found that the tourism industry (which includes the accommodation and food service industries), the retail trade industry, and construction industry were particularly impacted by wage theft. In a double blow to employees, the Study found that the lowest wage earners were the most likely to be victims of wage theft, even though such low wage earners are the least able group of worker to be able to afford non-payment of earned wages. As the Study notes, wage theft takes many forms, including unpaid overtime, unpaid minimum wages, working through unpaid meal periods, mislabeling employees as independent contractors, requiring off-the-clock work, changing time cards or pay records, illegal pay deductions, and paying wages late or not at all. The Study points out that wage theft is bad not only for employees affected, but also for the business community because it allows unscrupulous employers to gain an unfair advantage by putting law abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage. The Study concludes that much more can be done to combat wage theft because Florida’s has no statewide mechanism, such as a Florida labor board, to enforce existing Florida’s wage laws. Such enforcement of the wage laws is largely left to attorneys who represent employees whose wage rights have been violated, and/or the U.S. Department of Labor if the wage violation is within the scope of federal law. If your employer is violating your wage rights, or you have questions about the pay practices where you work, call Bober & Bober, P.A. at 1-800-995-9243 for a free consultation.

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Many Landscaping Companies Violate Wage Laws

Samara Bober — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:28:52 +0000

Some landscaping companies try to avoid overtime pay by paying their workers a piece rate for removing landscaping, but fail to pay their workers overtime when they exceed for 40 hours in a week. For example, one landscaping company was required to pay $52,240 in back wages and penalties following a determination by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that company violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) buy using such a piece rate pay system. An employer may determine earnings on a piece rate basis, a salary basis, by commission, or by some other basis. The overtime pay due, however, must be calculated on the basis of the average hourly rate derived from such earnings. Another mistake some landscaping companies make is they pay their employees from two different companies for the same work, or paying their employees from one company for work performed during the workweek, and from a different company for work performed on the weekend. Other landscaping companies ask their employees to “volunteer” to work on weekends and then try claim they are independent contractors. If your employer is engaging in this conduct, you should contact a wage and hour attorney to see what overtime or other wages you may be owed.

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