Call: (434) 218-3133

Wages & Overtime

Tim fights to make sure workers are paid all the compensation they have earned. He represents workers whose employers have not complied with federal or state law governing minimum wage, overtime, FLSA exemptions, misclassification, bonuses, tips, commissions, and other kinds of compensation. In certain cases, called class or collective actions, he represents groups of workers who have experienced the same kind of wage theft by the same employer.

Attorney for Unpaid & Lost Wages in Virginia

Under federal and state law, unless you are covered by an exception to the law, your employer must pay you at least the hourly minimum wage and an overtime premium for the overtime hours you work.

Employers frequently make mistakes that deprive workers from receiving all the compensation they earn. These practices can deny an employee full overtime wages, cause an employee’s pay to fall below the minimum wage, cause an employee to not receive the proper amount of tips, and result in the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.

Here are a few examples of common mistakes employers make, which cause employees to receive less pay than the law requires:

Not paying hourly employees overtime wages (1.5 times their regular rate of pay) for all hours worked over 40 in a week;

Incorrectly assuming that all salaried employees are not entitled to overtime pay, when in fact many salaried employees are entitled to overtime pay;

Not paying employees for time they work off the clock (for example, during lunch or before or after regular working hours), when the employer knew or should have known they were working;

Shaving time or altering pay records to avoid paying for all hours worked or to reduce overtime pay to employees;

Not paying employees for time they spend putting on (“donning”) or taking off (“doffing”) protective gear and equipment necessary to do their jobs;

Incorrectly assuming that calling workers “independent contractors,” or having workers sign independent contractor “agreements,” means the workers are not entitled to minimum wages and overtime pay;

Failing to include commissions and bonuses in calculating overtime compensation;

Failing to properly calculate overtime pay for employees who are paid on a piecework basis;

Failing to properly calculate overtime pay for employees who are paid day rates or hybrid day rate-plus-salary pay structures;

Requiring tipped employees to share part of their tips with managers or supervisors;

Requiring tipped employees to share part of their tips with non-tipped employees, like kitchen staff;

Failing to pay at least minimum wages for slow weeks in which commissions or tips are not high enough to bring workers’ total pay for the week to at least the minimum wage;

Allowing staffing agencies or labor brokers to pay employees in a way that violates minimum wage or overtime laws;

And many others.

Potential Types of Wages & Overtime Cases

TIPPED WORKERS

The law has special requirements and protections for employees whose pay includes tips.

EXEMPTION MISCLASSIFICATION

Employers commonly make mistakes about which employees are “exempt” from overtime and minimum wage laws.

UNPAID TIME

Employees should be paid for all the time they work, including during lunch or outside normal hours.

OVERTIME MATH PROBLEMS

The law generally requires an employer to include all compensation in calculating your overtime rate.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR MISCLASSIFICATION

Companies can't misclassify employees as “independent contractors.”

EQUAL PAY

The Equal Pay Act requires employers to pay women the same as men for doing substantially the same work.

Additional Resources

Fair Labor Standards Act: Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections for Workers

FLSA Executive Employee Exemption: Management and Direction

FLSA Administrative Employee Exemption: Discretion and Independent Judgment

FLSA Professional Employee Exemption: Learned or Creative or Teaching

Independent Contractor v. Employee: Economic Realities Law

Law of Joint Employment

Tip Credit Law Basics

Wage Law Basics for Public Employees

Wage Law for Fire Protection and Law Enforcement Personnel

Virginia’s Independent Contractor Misclassification Law: Control and Independence

Cases

Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery: Burden of Proving Off-the-Clock Work

Christensen v. Harris County: Compelled Use of FLSA Compensatory Time

Falk v. Brennan: Law of Employment and Control

IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez: Law of Compensation for Waiting

Integrity Staffing v. Busk: Principal Activities Law

Kasten v. Saint-Gobain: Scope of FLSA Protected Activity

Steiner v. Mitchell: Integral and Indispensable Equals Compensable

Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo: Representative Proof in Wage Classes

Wage Law for Fire Protection and Law Enforcement Personnel

Attorney Tim Coffield is dedicated to fighting wage theft. If you believe your employer has not paid you everything you earned, contact Tim to review your situation.

Call (434) 218-3133 for a Consultation or Contact Coffield PLC

info@coffieldlaw.com