How Do I Prove The Amount Of Time Spent Working Overtime Hours?

The Fair Labor Standards Act has very specific and very rigorous record keeping requirements for employers. All employers are required to keep records of the hours that their employees work. Obviously, a lot of employers fail to maintain the records as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. What happens then? The law in the United States gives a presumption in favor of the employee when they employer fails to maintain records as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Then, we turn to the employee’s testimony and the court gives great weight to that testimony.

There are also other sources of information. A lot of hourly workers get a paycheck every week that states the number of hours they worked. If there was never a dispute about how many hours you worked and you just didn’t get paid overtime, that is another way we can prove the case.

Can I Still File An Overtime Lawsuit If I Signed A Release Saying I Wouldn’t Bring A Lawsuit?

Generally, you can still file a lawsuit, even if you signed a release. A general release, if it did not specifically address Fair Labor Standard Act claims, would not serve to eliminate an employee’s right to come back and make a claim. If it were a specific release that addressed the Fair Labor Standard Act or overtime claims, particularly if it were one that was accompanied by a payment from the employer to the employee in exchange for the release, then that’s something we’d have to look at to see how effective it would be.

Does It Matter If I’ve Never Reported Or Asked For Overtime?

It does not matter if you’ve never requested overtime. Many people simply don’t understand that they have the right to overtime. If the law imposed the requirement that they demand it, ask for it, or discuss it with the employer, then it would be much weaker protection.

Am I Protected From Retaliation If I Sue My Employer For Overtime?

The Fair Labor Standard Act has built-in protection for those who are retaliated against by their employer. If you are retaliated against, you have additional claims that you can add to your lawsuit. It is illegal, for example, for an employer to fire an employee who filed a Fair Labor Standard Act claim. The act can even order the company to reinstate the employee.

Additional Information On Overtime Claims In Louisiana

The Fair Labor Standard Act still applies, even if you were paid in some way other than by the hour. If you worked more than 40 hours a week, it doesn’t matter if you were paid by the hour, the day, the week, or the month. If you are not within an exemption, then you have an overtime claim. You and your attorney can work together to calculate the regular rate of pay of the employee. Someone who is paid $200 per day and works five days a week makes a thousand dollars per week. If they worked a hundred hours in a week and were paid that thousand dollars, their effective hourly rate is $10 per hour. This person worked 60 hours of overtime and for those 60 hours of overtime, they should have been paid time and a half, which would be $15 per hour. They are now entitled to $5 per overtime hour worked, which would be $300 for that week.

The Fair Labor Standard Act, in most cases, is also going to give that person an equal amount in what we call liquidated damages. Their claim could be worth as much as $600 per week of employment if they worked an average of 100 hours per week. No matter what manner in which the employer pays, if the person is entitled to overtime and is not exempt from the overtime provisions, we can assert a claim for unpaid overtime.

For more information on Proving Overtime Hours In Louisiana, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (225) 308-7004 today.