Ocala Wage & Hour Lawyer

Florida employers are bound by state and federal laws to pay their employees the full wages that they earned. If your employer has shorted your pay or cheated you in any way, even if the amounts are low enough that you believe they are not worth pursuing, it is best to talk to an Ocala wage and hour lawyer. You will not only be awarded your full pay, but your legal fees and court costs will be reimbursed by your employer in many cases of employer wrongdoing.

Florida’s Minimum Wage

The state minimum wage is currently set at $8.46 an hour and $5.44 an hour for tipped workers, though employers must be prepared to adjust their hourly wages whenever the minimum goes up. There are no exceptions for most employees. Sadly, mentally and physically disabled workers can be paid less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour under the Fair Labor Standards Act according to the Department of Labor, though there is nothing “fair” about this act. Additional exemptions from the federal minimum wage may apply to student workers, agricultural workers, and older workers considered to be physically disabled.

Ocala Unpaid Overtime

Overtime work must be compensated by time and a half. Anytime an employee works more than 40 hours a week, each and every minute must be compensated by the employee’s hourly wages by 1.5. As such, an employee earning $10 an hour would earn $15 an hour for overtime work. Exempt employees sometimes include professional level and managerial positions. Yet, some employers utilize all the unlawful tricks to keep their pay rates low, such as illegally misclassify employees so they do not have to pay them overtime. If you suspect wrongdoing, an attorney can help.

Ocala Unpaid Wages

Unpaid wages are a serious problem in the U.S., so great that the economic impact of unpaid wages is seriously harming our state and national economies. According to the Economic Policy Institute, employees lose $15 billion to wage theft each year, as reported by The Conversation. This level of wage theft is greater than all property crime theft in the United States combined. It is important to keep track of one’s wages for each pay period, because employers cannot be trusted to pay the legal obligation mandated by an employee’s employment contract. Tipped employees should also keep track of their wages because they must add up to Florida’s tipped minimum wage. Employers must make up the difference if an employee’s wages do not add up to the minimum wage or what is stated in their employment contract.

Time off and Work Breaks 

While there are no state or federal laws requiring all employers to give employees break times, federal laws require that breaks under 20 minutes must be compensated as work time. Moreover, any “break” during which an employee is obligated to work, such as a nonexistent lunch break where an employee is told to eat lunch at his or her post or desk, is considered work time and must be compensated as such.

An Ocala Lawyer Can Help Get Your Benefits

Many employers are all too eager to bend or break laws to avoid paying their employees fairly. If you have lost any amount of your wages or salary due to an employer’s greed and dishonesty, we strongly urge you to call the Ocala wage and hour attorneys at The Pendas Law Firm at 1-844-200-0000 to schedule a free consultation.