Moore & Associates are unpaid overtime lawyers in Houston, Texas who can potentially assist you in collecting unpaid wages if you have been asked to work off-the-clock in Houston, Texas. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, workers who are not exempt are required to be paid time and a half for every hour worked in addition to 40-hours in a given workweek. If you have been working over 40-hour workweeks and have not been paid time and a half for your additional work, you might be entitled to seek backpay from your employer. There are several ways that employers may try to avoid paying workers overtime. One way that some employers might try to avoid paying overtime wages is by asking employees to work off-the-clock. What is off-the-clock work?
Some examples of off-the-clock work includes loading a truck, getting equipment to a work site, or waiting for work to start. Any work done after a shift is over, like cleaning equipment or returning equipment to storage might also be considered off-the-clock work. If you have been asked to take home work, have to take work phone calls at home, or if you had to stay late to help a customer, this might all be considered off-the-clock work. Employers have a responsibility to carefully time tasks so that employees won’t have to work off-the-clock. They also have a responsibility to do their due diligence to track employee hours or pay employees for overtime. So, if your task list is longer than the workday allows, you have the right to speak to your employer and ask for overtime pay for overtime hours worked.
Think you might be entitled to seek backpay for overtime off-the-clock hours worked? Moore & Associates is a Houston, Texas unpaid wages law firm who may be able to assist you with seeking backpay. We can review your employment situation to see whether you fall into an exempt category, and, if you are entitled to receive backpay, our Houston, Texas law firm might be able to help you recover these wages.
Examples of Off-the-Clock Work
It is usually illegal to require an employee to perform off-the-clock work. While there are certain exempt categories of workers, generally, any work performed for an employer should be compensated. Furthermore, if an employee works over 40 hours in a given workweek, performing off-the-clock duty or additional duties, the employee might be entitled to receive time and a half pay for every hour worked over a forty hour workweek. What are some examples of off-the-clock work?
- Preparing the worksite. Tasks can include setting up a restaurant before the restaurant opens, stocking shelves or opening up registers before a store officially opens, bringing equipment to a worksite, or other tasks before the “work” begins.
- After-the-job-work. Tasks can include cleaning up a restaurant after the restaurant closes, returning to a worksite to drop off equipment, or staying after a shop closes to help a customer or to help a co-worker. If a worker is given a limited timeframe to complete a task but this timeframe isn’t sufficient, the employer either needs to give the employee more time or pay the employee for off-the-clock work.
- Waiting for work between assignments. Sometimes there might be “down time” or time when there aren’t tasks to do. Employees cannot ask workers to clock out during slow times or when waiting for equipment to arrive or loads to arrive, for example. For example, if there are slow times at your restaurant, workers should never be asked to clock out and then clock back in when customers arrive.
- Re-doing mistakes. If you are asked to re-do an assignment, you should be paid for the time it takes to re-do work.
- Administrative work. Paperwork, meetings, answering phone calls after hours, or training should all be compensated work.
These are just some examples of the types of off-the-clock work that some employees might be asked to do. If you have been asked to work off-the-clock, Moore & Associates is an unpaid wages law firm in Houston, Texas that may be able to help you seek backpay for your unpaid work. Contact our attorney today to learn more.
Seeking Unpaid Wages in Houston, Texas
If you’ve been asked to work off-the-clock in Houston, Texas, you may have the right to seek backpay from your employer. If you have to take your case to court, your employer may also have to pay for any attorney’s fees you incur if you win. Moore & Associates is an unpaid wages law firm in Houston, Texas who fights for workers’ rights. If you have not been paid for time you have worked, you may have the right to seek compensation. Contact our unpaid wages lawyers today or reach out to USAttorneys.com who can connect you with an unpaid wages lawyer like Moore & Associates.
