Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, if you are a nonexempt employee and work over 40 hours a week, you might be entitled to receive time and a half pay for all overtime hours you worked. If you have put in overtime, but have not been paid time and a half for the overtime work you performed, you may be entitled to seek backpay from your employer for the difference between what you are owed and what you were paid. But how much might you be entitled to receive? Moore & Associates is an unpaid wages law firm in Houston, Texas that can review your situation, calculate the unpaid wages you might be owed, and who can fight to help you get paid.
How much might you be owed? Every case is unique. First, you’ll want to double check that you are not an exempt worker. Some classes of workers are not entitled to overtime pay. And, if you were an independent contractor, you may not be entitled to overtime pay. If you are not exempt, then you may be entitled to seek unpaid wages for overtime you worked. However, you may have only a limited amount of time to claim unpaid wages, and may only be able to claim unpaid wages for two years prior to your demand. Have more questions about what you might be owed? Contact Moore & Associates, an unpaid wages law firm in Houston, Texas today.
Calculating Unpaid Wages:
Your first step in calculating the unpaid wages you might be owed is to calculate how many hours you worked for the time in question. Start by calculating the hours you worked each week. You can do this by looking at your schedule or by looking at your clock in or clock out times. Once you understand how many hours you worked, you can then calculate how much money you should have received. Usually, you can do this by calculating your hourly wage for the first 40 hours worked each week. Then, if you worked over 40 hours in a given week, you can multiply these overtime hours by time and a half your hourly wage. So, if your hourly wage was $12 an hour and you worked 60 hours in a given week, you’ll earn $480 for the first 40 hours you worked, and then $18 an hour for the additional 20 hours you worked, $360. The total earnings for this workweek should have been $840. However, if your employer isn’t compensating you for overtime pay, the amount you may have received might have only been $720. You might be able to seek the difference, by making a demand upon your employer.
Of course, when making a demand, you’ll need to establish several facts. Namely, that you are not exempt, that you worked the overtime hours in question, and that you were not paid for overtime. If you have questions about how to move forward after determining that you might be owed unpaid overtime, consider reaching out to Moore & Associates, unpaid overtime attorneys in Houston, Texas today.
Documenting Unpaid Overtime Claims
There are several ways that unpaid overtime claims can be documented. For example, you can submit pay stubs showing the rate you were actually paid, you can submit timesheets and records of when you clocked in and out, or submit pay stubs showing the hours for which you were paid. You can also submit emails or other records of your work schedule. Your job description or employment contract may also prove helpful in showing that you are entitled to receive overtime pay. Have questions about what documentation you should provide when seeking unpaid overtime or back pay? Moore & Associates are unpaid overtime lawyers in Houston, Texas who may be able to assist you with putting together documentation and with writing a demand letter to your employer. Sometimes a claim might need to be made through a formal complaint, but in some cases, employees are able to settle with their employers outside of court by providing human resources with excellent documentation and clearly-worded demand letters.
Seek Back Pay Today
Think you might be owed back pay because your employer didn’t properly compensate you for overtime? You may only have a limited amount of time to claim unpaid wages. While it is possible to demand backpay from your employer yourself, sometimes employees hire an unpaid wages lawyer to help them navigate the claims process. You have rights when seeking back pay. For example, your employer may not be permitted to retaliate against you for asserting your rights. Have questions? Contact Moore & Associates, an unpaid wages lawyer in Houston, Texas today. Or reach out to USAttorneys.com to learn more.
