HOUSTON, Texas. According to ABC 13, twenty-four employees at a Mexican restaurant in Houston will receive approximately $100,000 in unpaid overtime. According to the complaint, the restaurant owned several branches in the city. When workers worked at different branches, the employees’ overtime was not counted. Essentially, the company shuttled the workers between locations in the hope that they could evade federal wage laws. The tactic didn’t work. Employees are entitled to receive overtime pay regardless of which branch they work.
Most workers are entitled to overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours a week. Employers may sometimes try to claim that a worker is an exception in order to avoid paying overtime. If your employer tells you this, do your research. If you work over 40 hours in a given week, you may be entitled to receive time-and-a-half pay for every additional hour you work. If you work long hours and if you work hard on the weekends, this can add up to quite a bit of money for many workers.
If you are owed unpaid overtime, now may be the time to fight back. We’re living in a time where more and more workers are unable to save enough money for retirement. Every penny matters. According to the Atlantic, the median 401(k) savings for a person between 55 and 64 years of age is just $15,000—hardly enough to live off in a single year. As Medicare requires more out-of-pocket expenses, and as older Americans find that social security is not enough to pay rent, especially in cities where rent costs are high, more older Americans are working long past the typical retirement age.
Saving for retirement in the U.S. often includes the expectation of social security, pensions from employers, and personal retirement savings. Yet, more employers are not offering pensions. Others pay into 401(k)s, while yet other workers are employed in unsteady work where there simply isn’t room to pay into retirement funds. Overtime work could be just one way that workers can get ahead. When employers fail to offer pension plans, fail to pay into 401(k)s, and then also fail to pay the workers the overtime they deserve, they leave workers behind.
The lack of wage increases to match inflation also makes the problem tougher. Workers may feel that they need to put in extra hours because their wages don’t cover the basic costs of living. However, when workers don’t receive time and a half for overtime, they can’t use overtime to overcome the failure of the wage market to match the larger economy.
Workers are struggling. Unpaid overtime makes the struggle harder. If you believe you may be owed unpaid overtime or pay for time and a half work, consider reaching out to Moore & Associates, an unpaid overtime lawyer in Houston, Texas. Our firm can work with you to determine whether you may be owed overtime pay. We can then fight to help you recover the money you may deserve under the law. Visit us at https://www.mooreandassociates.net/ today to learn more.
