Overtime Pay/Fair Labor Standards Act Lawyers, Nashville, Tennessee

Under the federal law known as the Fair Labor Standards Act (referred to as the "FLSA"), certain employees are entitled to be paid for overtime work. Overtime pay cases involve a complex group of FLSA statutes as well as the interpretation given to those statutes by federal courts. The Nashville, Tennessee law firm of Pepper & Brothers represents employers and employees in all areas of Middle Tennessee and Tennessee in overtime pay cases and FLSA cases.

In addition to the complexity of overtime pay cases, for the employer and employee, the stakes in an overtime pay case are typically significantly higher than just the unpaid overtime being claimed. The FLSA allows for double damages and attorneys' fees to a successful employee in an overtime lawsuit. For the best result in your FLSA or overtime pay case, it is important that you seek the advice of an experienced and knowledgeable overtime pay lawyer.

Frequently, employees who are entitled to be paid for overtime work under the FLSA are not paid for overtime either by mistake or willfully. Some common circumstances that result in the failure of employees to receive overtime pay to which they are entitled arise from:

• Believing that, so long as an employee is paid a salary, the employee is not entitled to overtime pay (in fact, some employees who are paid a salary are still entitled to overtime pay)
• Believing that an employee is an "independent contractor"(the FLSA does not require employers to pay overtime pay to bona fide independent contractors)
• Believing that employees whose positions are classified as managerial or supervisory are not entitled to overtime pay regardless of the number of hours worked per week (just because an employee's title is "supervisor" or "manager," that fact, alone, does not exempt the employer from paying overtime pay to the employee)
• The failure of an employer to include break times in the calculation of total hours worked during the week
• An employee working through his or her lunch break, but that time not being included in the calculation of hours worked during the week
• An employee's off-the-clock or at-home work not being included in the calculation of the hours worked during the week
• An employer's miscalculation of the overtime pay rate by failing to include non-discretionary bonuses or incentive pay

If you believe that you have not been paid overtime pay to which you are entitled, it is important that you speak with an experienced and skilled overtime pay lawyer sooner rather than later. Under the FLSA, an employee generally may only obtain unpaid overtime pay for the two year period preceding the filing of an overtime pay case with the court. If the employee proves a willful violation of the overtime pay provisions of the FLSA, the employee can recover overtime pay for the three years preceding the filing of the lawsuit with the court.

The Nashville, Tennessee law firm of Pepper & Brothers offers free initial consultations and represents employees in overtime pay cases on a contingency fee basis. Under a contingency fee arrangement, the employee/client owes nothing unless, and until, there is a monetary recovery.

If you are an employer facing an overtime lawsuit or overtime pay claim or you need advice about complying with overtime pay provisions, Pepper & Brothers offers free initial consultations as well as ongoing representation in the event the firm is retained.

For a free initial consultation, call 615-256-4838 to speak with Nashville attorneys Ross Pepper or Matthew Brothers. Mr. Brothers and Mr. Pepper have over forty years of combined experience representing employees and employers in employment cases including FLSA and overtime pay cases.

Frequently Asked Questions About Overtime Pay Cases

Q: When is an employee entitled to overtime pay?

A: A non-exempt employee covered by the overtime pay provisions of the FLSA is entitled to be paid one and a half times the employee's regular rate of pay after forty hours in a workweek.

Q: In determining whether an employee has worked forty hours in the workweek, does the employer have to include the two fifteen minute breaks that were given to the employee each workday?

A: Yes. (The same is not true of bona-fide meal periods of at least thirty minutes.)

Q: What employees are exempt from the requirements of the FLSA so that the employer is not required to pay them for overtime work?

A: Some are:

• Executive, administrative, and professional employees provided certain conditions are met
• Certain "computer employees"
• Outside sales employees
• Certain employees of retail and service establishments who are paid on a commission basis
• Employees of certain defined seasonal amusement or recreational establishments
• Employees who are considered "farm workers" under the FLSA

Q: Can an employee bring a lawsuit not just for himself or herself, but also, for other employees in similar positions?

A: Yes. The FLSA allows "collective actions" under certain conditions. Employees can elect to opt in or to opt out of a collective action for overtime pay under the FLSA.

Q: Do independent contractors have to be paid overtime? Is someone an independent contractor just because they agreed to work as an independent contractor?

A: Bona fide independent contractors do not have to be paid for overtime. Under the FLSA, overtime pay is only required where there is an "employment relationship." Just because there is consent, an agreement, or understanding that someone is performing work as an independent contractor, those facts do not necessarily mean that the person is not entitled to overtime pay. With some frequency, employers fail to pay overtime to persons to whom overtime pay is due on the basis that the persons are independent contractors.

Q: How does the court determine whether someone is an independent contractor versus an employee who should have been paid overtime?

A: There is no single rule or test that a court will use to determine whether someone is an employee protected by the FLSA or an independent contractor. The factors that a court will consider in making the decision include:

• How integral where the services provided to the employer's business by the alleged independent contractor?
• How permanent was the relationship of the employer and the alleged independent contractor?
• How much did the alleged independent contractor invest in equipment and facilities?
• How much control did the employer exercise over the alleged independent contractor?
• What chance did the alleged independent contractor have of making a profit or sustaining a loss as opposed to receiving a certain amount of profit?
• How much independent business organization and operation were required by the alleged independent contractor?

In addition to handling overtime pay cases in Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, Pepper & Brothers handles overtime and FLSA cases in all areas of Middle Tennessee and Tennessee including, Williamson County, Rutherford County, Sumner County, Dickson County, Wilson County, Cheatham County, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Lebanon, Cookeville and Dickson.

For a free initial consultation with lawyers Ross Pepper or Matthew Brothers with the Nashville law firm of Pepper & Brothers about your overtime pay case, call 615-256-4838.