Wage and hour lawsuits in which plaintiffs allege they have been misclassified as independent contractors have become increasingly common in recent years. The entrepreneurial spirit continues to thrive in those who like the idea of being their own boss, but there’s no advantage when you have someone else as your…
Many employers assume a worker who gets paid a salary is not entitled to the premium overtime compensation rate, but this is not the case. Although earning an annual salary of at least $23,600 is one of the requirements for overtime exemption, an employee must also fit into one of…
Misclassifying workers as exempt from overtime is one of the most common ways employers avoid paying overtime compensation. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) defines overtime as all time spent working after eight hours a day or forty hours a week. The FLSA requires employers to pay all hourly…
Many employees suffer low wages or work overtime without compensation because they are afraid their employers will lash out against them if they speak up, but some wage and hour violations do have happy endings. Li Xiu Z. worked as a cook at Yank Sing, a dim sum restaurant in…
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that provides various protections for workers in the United States who would otherwise be vulnerable to exploitation by their employers. In order to accomplish this, the FLSA regulates things like minimum wage and overtime, but not everyone is entitled to…
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was careful to provide a definition of “work” in order to make sure companies did not take advantage of their employees by forcing them to perform work without fair compensation. Unfortunately, the definition is still sufficiently vague as to leave some matters in…
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides all sorts of rules and regulations to make sure workers are not mistreated by their employers. Two of the most well-known regulations involve overtime and minimum wage. The FLSA defines overtime as any time spent working after eight hours a day or…
Almost every little boy dreams of growing up to become a professional athlete of some sort. They are tempted by promises of fame, glory, and multi-million dollar contracts, but the reality for most athletes isn’t so sweet. Although certain baseball players for the Major League Baseball (MLB) manage to make…
The task of defining “work” may seem pretty straightforward, but it’s not always as easy as most people think. As with just about everything in life, there are two sides to every story. From the employee’s perspective, work consists of anything required by the employer. This frequently includes any time…
Hiring independent contractors, rather than employees, can be an effective way for companies to save some money. In exchange, independent contractors have more freedom than employees. They get to make their own hours and decide where they work. The down side is, unlike employees, independent contractors are responsible for covering…