Wage Hour Disputes

“A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work” is a famous rallying cry for the workers’ rights movement. The wage and hour attorneys at Geoff McDonald and Associates believe in that sentiment whole-heartedly, and we have been standing up for the rights of workers for over 20 years. It’s a sad fact that every day throughout the Commonwealth and across the country workers are denied wages and benefits rightfully owed to them for their labors under federal and/or local laws.

The denial of wages can take several forms, for example:

Failure to Pay Overtime

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), most employees—those who do not qualify as exempt under the FLSA—are entitled to overtime and should be paid one and a half times their normal wage for time worked in excess of 40 hours per week. This entitlement cannot be waived by agreement between you and your employer. Importantly, regardless of whether you are paid hourly or a salary for a set number of hours per workweek, you may be entitled to overtime wages.

Misclassification

Employers routinely misclassify employees as independent contractors or exempt under the FLSA, resulting in the non-payment of overtime wages rightfully owed to workers. Whether an employee meets the requirements of an exemption under the FLSA is a highly factual issue, and the FLSA lawyers at Geoff McDonald and Associates have the knowledge and resources to assess whether your job duties fit within one of these narrow exceptions.

Failure to Pay Minimum Wage

As a general rule, all workers are entitled to be paid at least the minimum wage under federal law. Effective July 24, 2009, that amount is $7.25 per hour. However, certain state and local laws provide for greater minimum compensation, which employers are required to pay.

Off-the-Clock Work

If you do not meet the requirements of any FLSA exemption or are not an independent contractor, you are entitled to compensation for all hours of work performed in a given workweek. Some typical violations of this area of the law include:

• Employers requiring employees to punch out but continue working
• Requiring employees to record a set number of hours worked rather than hours actually worked
• Requiring non-exempt employees to respond to emails and calls after hours but not paying for that time

If you believe any of the above circumstances apply to you, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the wage and hour attorneys at Geoff McDonald and Associates for a free consultation on your case.

FCRA

Many people don’t realized how great an impact your credit history can have on your life. Your credit history can affect many aspects of your day-to-day life, including employment. Employers routinely contract with national consumer credit reporting agencies to get information on you and your history in the form of “credit reports.”

A credit report is basically the compilation of various information pulled together from tax records, banks, credit card companies, stores, court records, phone companies, utility companies, and home rental companies, to name a few sources. Consumer credit reporting agencies pull this information together to create a report, which is then provided to the requesting party.

Credit reports raise a number of concerns and issues.

• It is important to understand that your credit report is constantly changing and is not a static document.
• Credit reports frequently contain incorrect or incomplete information.
• The requesting party can use the information provided in a consumer report in a number of ways. In the case of employers, credit reports are frequently used as sort-of “background check” for employees and prospective job candidates.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, (FCRA), you are entitled to obtain a free copy of your consumer report online once every 12 months. If a credit report on you has been requested and the requesting party made an adverse decision based on your credit report, you are entitled to a free report within 60 days of the denial.

If you receive your credit report and it contains incorrect information and other errors, it is important that you speak with an attorney to understand your rights under the FCRA. The overtime wage attorneys at Geoff McDonald and Associates are happy to assist you. Contact us today for a free consultation.