Every state has its overtime laws that protect employees from gluttonous employees. However, whether one is entitled to get overtime depends on the job and the hours they work. If you are a group of workers who have not been paid overtime wages, you can choose to contact class action lawsuit lawyers in California. It’s important to note that overtime violation falls into three main categories. With this knowledge, you can pursue your overtime case with confidence.

Three Common Overtime Violations

Not every employee is entitled to overtime. Therefore, before filing any claim, it would be better to know your rights as an employee. While the majority of employer follows overtime law in California, some fail to follow the rules set by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). If your employer is covered by the FLSA, he/she must pay overtime wages to eligible employees. Nevertheless, even if your employer is not covered under FLSA, you can still be entitled to receive overtime if your state law allows.

California employers violate the law in three main ways, which include:

1. Undercounting or failure to count hours worked:Some employers do this in many ways. For instance, employees who work during the rest period or they are required to be on the desk during meal breaks must be entitled to overtime. Employers also fail to count hours spent by an employee while traveling to and from work. If your employers keep on requesting you to work during your unpaid rest or meal breaks, you may be entitled to overtime.
2. Miscalculation of hourly rate:Employer must accurately calculate the regular rate of pay to every employee entitled to overtime. Miscalculation mostly happens when there are bonuses or commissions. Some employers have even had lawsuits lodged against them and paid hefty fines by miscalculating wages by a few cents.
3. Misclassification of employees:Where employers want to evade paying overtime, they classify employees as professional or administrative exempt where their jobs don’t qualify to be exempt. Another major mistake is classifying employees as executive exempt, whereas their duties are the same as other workers who allegedly reports to them.

If you think you may have a case, the best way to prepare is to keep your records on the hours worked during unpaid breaks or even at home. With the right documentation, you will be in a better position to convince your employer, who may have no chance to refute.

Do You Have An Overtime Case?

If you believe your employer denied you overtime wages, the first step would be to raise a concern. You should inform the payroll management about your issue while following the laid out procedures.

If you don’t get any response, consider consulting an experienced employment lawyer who can assist you file an overtime claim. A good lawyer will evaluate your case and determine whether you have a valid claim. Again, you will also get the evidence needed to come up with a successful overtime claim. Most of the time, employers violate overtime laws on a group of employees. That way, you can file a class-action lawsuit and have your rights protected as a group.