The manufacturing industry operates on the simple economic principle call supply and demand. When demand outstrips supply, manufacturing plants bustle with production activity. Conversely, manufacturing plants often endure long stints of inactivity when demand falls well below supply.
What does this mean for manufacturers? The long hours required to meet demand leads to the payment of overtime to workers. If you work for a manufacturer and put in overtime, state and federal laws mandate the employer must compensate you for the extra time put in at work.
Manufacturer employees that are eligible, but do not receive overtime pay, have the right to contest wage theft by filing a claim against their employers. You can also speak with a human resources representative to discuss the overtime issue.
Summary of Overtime Eligibility
Established by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), federal law demands employers compensate workers overtime pay for work put in that exceeds 40 hours a week. The FSLA states employers must compensate workers for overtime at no less than one and a half times the rate of regular pay.
This means that if a manufacturer pays you $30 an hour for standard pay, the company must compensate you $45 per hour for every hour logged in as overtime. Employees designated as exempt from this statute are not eligible to receive overtime pay. Check with your employer to discover whether you are considered exempt from overtime pay.
Although the FSLA applies its overtime standard to the number of hours worked in a week, some states have enacted labor laws that define overtime pay for the hours worked in a day. The threshold used by every state that has legislated daily overtime pay is eight hours.
If you do not work in a state that defines overtime on an hourly basis, then every hour worked over 40 hours per week should compensate you at least time and a half for your efforts. Under FLSA guidelines, the workweek covers every hour of the week, which consists of seven, 24-hour periods that add up to a total of 168 hours.
Evidence is Key for Filing an Overtime Claim
The first item on your to do list before filing a claim for overtime is to check with your state and determine whether it considers overtime on an hourly or a weekly basis. You also have to confirm your employment contract status, which can be hourly or salary.
Hourly workers have a much better chance of proving overtime abuse because of the official record keeping of hours logged in at work. Most employers use a digitally operated timekeeping system to keep track of hours worked.
Salaried employees should maintain an accurate record of the number of hours put in per week. Some states have overtime clauses that allow salaried workers to submit overtime claims. When in doubt, reach out to a state licensed employment lawyer for advice.
The Next Steps
Before you initiate a claim for overtime, you should speak with a representative from the human resources department that handles overtime issues. Make sure to take notes during the meeting to collect evidence in case you move forward with a lawsuit. The human resources representative has to inform you about how the state treats overtime, as well as confirm whether the company has failed to live up to its legal obligation to compensate your for working overtime.
If the meeting with the human resources manager failed to resolve your overtime dispute, the time has come to gather the evidence required to present your case in front of an arbitrator or a mediator. Most companies prefer to resolve overtime disputes in arbitration or mediation, as opposed to taking a case to a civil courtroom. Time sheets, paycheck stubs, and documentation that confirms your work status are essential pieces of evidence in an overtime dispute case.
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An accomplished employment attorney who specializes in litigating overtime cases may boost the legal credentials of your case in front of a mediator or an arbitrator, If the case goes to court, your lawyer provides sound legal advice and possesses persuasive litigation skills.
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