It is illegal for employers to retaliate against employees that fight for their rights under the wage laws. The Act protects you from suffering revenge or retaliatory acts from your employer.
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Labor & Employment
In Miami you are entitled to receive compensation for your work. This includes receiving full payment on time, specially Miami overtime and unpaid wages. Every worker is entitled to fair and correct pay according to the law. You are no different. If you live in Miami, your employer is obligated by Florida laws to ensure that you do not end up cheated out of pay for hours. When you have honestly worked the hours you shouldn’t be cheated in over time or unpaid wages.
Many workers are cheated out of their honest earned pay because some employers cut corners in complying with relevant laws. Research shows that in the 10 most populous states in the US, up to 2.4 million workers lose $8 billion annually in unpaid wages. This includes Miami overtime and unpaid wages. That is up to a quarter of their yearly pay. Even worse, the workers most affected are the ones that can least afford to be cheated out of the money. Up to 17% of victims are low wage workers.
If you believe that you have been cheated out of your fair wages you need to fight for your compensation. If you are a victim of unpaid overtime or unpaid wages in Miami you may file a Miami overtime and unpaid wages claim against your employer. At PereGonza The Attorneys , we accept cases involving a wide range of overtime and minimum wage related issues from workers around the nation.
In Miami, Florida and federal law require that all employers maintain standard overtime and minimum wage practices. Despite this, there are several ways employers violate these laws. This may lead to miscalculated overtime and unpaid wages in Miami.
You should know that you are being cheated if your employer refuses to compensate you for extra time doing work related tasks. You should be compensated even for the time it takes, to wear uniforms or work-related clothing. This may include protective gear like goggles and safety equipment.
Every hour that you work beyond the statutory maximum of 40 hours per week is overtime. You are entitled to be paid for overtime properly. You should not only be paid for working overtime, but you are also entitled to payment at the statutory rate.
Although you should note that the law does not specify a minimum or maximum number of hours that you must work per week. It however specifies that any hour you work beyond 40 work hours in a week should be counted towards overtime.
The problem with many employers is that they fail to consider a substantial amount of time spent doing work-related tasks as part of work hours. For instance, if your employer gives you short breaks of less than 20 minutes, that time should be counted as part of your work hours.
If your total ‘official’ time worked during the week is already up to 40 hours, those short breaks that were uncounted may count towards overtime.
The law stipulates the rate at which you should be paid for working overtime. This rate should be one and a half times your normal hourly wage. A Miami overtime and unpaid wages lawyer can guide you through a proper calculation. In essence, if your employer pays you for overtime at your ordinary hourly rate, you are being cheated of your correct wages.
Time and a half
Here’s how to calculate what you should actually be earning. If you are paid $10 per hour, that is your normal wage. This is what you will be entitled to for the 40 normal hours you work in a week. But for overtime, you should be paid one and a half time your normal wage. This means you should earn your normal $10 plus an extra $5. That’s a total of $15 for every overtime hour you work.
If you decide to file a complaint or pursue a lawsuit against your employer, you may be able to recover your back pay. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Florida’s minimum wage law, you can recover your unpaid wages and liquidated damages.
Liquidated damages will include civil money penalties in an amount equal to the amount of your unpaid wages. This means that if your unpaid wages amount to $1,000, you may also be able to sometimes recover liquidated damages of a$1,000.
In order to receive these damages though, you must inform your employer of your intention to sue. You need to give them a notice of 15 calendar days within which they can decide whether to settle your claim or not.
If they fail to settle within those 15 days, you can either file a complaint with the Department of Labor or institute a lawsuit against them.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, you only have 2 years to file your lawsuit. This time begins to run from the date that your employer violated the Act or the date that you learned of the violation. Consulting a Miami overtime and unpaid wages lawyer will help to clarify the exact time limit for you.
If your employer intentionally or willfully violated the Act, the limitation period will be extended to 3 years from when you discovered the violation.
At PereGonza The Attorneys , our primary focus is on securing fair compensation for the Miami overtime and unpaid wages you have been unfairly deprived of. Our attorneys will fight aggressively to recover your Miami overtime and unpaid wages and may attempt civil penalties against your employers.
You don’t have to worry about paying our lawyers right away. In most cases we will only charge you if we win a favorable settlement or award. We can sometimes even argue that your employer should be responsible to pay attorney fees for you.
If you would like to learn more about how we can help you, click on the button below to fill out our Free Case Evaluation Form.
Such acts include demoting you, assigning you to an unfavorable shift, cutting down your job duties or reducing your hours. You may be able to file a separate lawsuit against your employer if they have retaliated against you. A Miami overtime and unpaid wages lawyer can help you understand your rights in the event of a retaliation.
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