icon-employment-law

Wage and Hour Lawsuits

Missouri & Illinois Wage and Hour Lawyers

Missouri & Illinois Wage and Hour Attorneys

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that requires that employees get paid time-and-a-half for overtime and that they get paid at least the minimum wage for all hours worked, unless an exemption or exception applies. If your employer paid you less than minimum wage or refused to pay overtime, you may have a claim for back pay.

Wage and Hour Lawsuits
Table of Contents

Computer Employee Misclassification Lawsuits

Often employers try to get around these requirements by misclassifying employees as exempt when they are really not exempt. For example, certain employees who work on computers are exempt—meaning they do not have to be paid overtime or compensated at least at the minimum wage. But this exemption is only supposed to apply to high-level computer industry workers, such as software developers. Telephone tech support workers are not exempt. If you worked in tech support and did not get time-and-a-half compensation for additional work in excess of 40 weekly hours, or your salary worked out to less than minimum wage when divided by the number of hours you worked, you are likely entitled to back pay—the difference between what your employer should have paid you under the FLSA and what you actually made.

Employees Misclassified as Administrators or Professionals

Another frequent example of misclassification is workers who are classified as having administrative or professional jobs, when they really have little to no decision-making power. Administrative and professional employees are exempt from the FLSA overtime and minimum wage laws because they are supposed to be high-level, well-compensated employees. But an employer cannot get around federal law on fair labor standards just by calling a secretary an administrative employee—in order to be administrative, the employee has to actually make administrative decisions, and that has to be a big part of the job.

One recurring misclassification scenario is in small nursing homes, which may only be staffed by a handful of workers. One staff member may be responsible for a wide range of tasks, including some minor decisions, but mostly menial work like cooking, cleaning, and providing basic care such as toileting. These all-purpose employees may be called the “Administrator” but be paid very little and forced to work long hours. If you are being denied overtime pay at your job or are paid less than the minimum wage when you take into account your actual hours worked, and your job duties are truly not administrative or professional, you may have an FLSA misclassification case.

Unpaid Side Work Cases

Servers and waitstaff may be paid less than minimum wage because they are expected to make up the difference with tips. However, many restaurants try to take advantage of this by having their waitstaff perform side work, such as preparing table settings or food ingredients. Under the FLSA, non-tip side work needs to be compensated at least at the minimum hourly wage. If you are a server paid less than minimum wage even while performing this side work, you likely have a claim for back pay.

Experienced FLSA Wage & Hour Attorneys

Keane Law LLC is experienced in FLSA actions, both as individual cases as well as collective actions. Contact us today for a free evaluation.

Free Case Evaluation

We would like to hear from you. Please send us a message by filling out the form below and we will get back with you shortly.

What Our Clients Have To Say

The attorneys at Keane Law are committed to ensuring our clients’ voices are heard. Whether we are representing one client in a personal injury case or fighting for many in a class action, we always have their best interests in mind. But don’t take our word for it. Here are a few testimonials from some of our clients.