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How you can claim unpaid overtime wages

On Behalf of | Feb 4, 2019 | Employee Rights |

There are protections in place under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for employees who are categorized as non-exempt. These protections say that non-exempt employees are to be paid at a rate of 1.5 times their regular rate for every hour that they work over 40 in the span of a work week. Here are some tips for claiming unpaid overtime wages in New Jersey.

The first step in the process is to confirm that your job is actually considered non-exempt before talking to your employer. In order for an employee to be considered exempt, three tests need to be performed. They involve your salary level, job duties and salary basis. Depending on the results of these tests, you will either be classified as exempt (not eligible for overtime) or non-exempt (eligible for overtime).

If you are eligible for overtime, you need to calculate the number of hours in the last two years for which you were not compensated for your work. You will need to provide pay stubs, timesheets and as much other documentation as possible to support your claim.

Provide all of this documentation to the human resources department and await their response. If your claim is valid, a check should be issued immediately for the overtime wages you are due. If your employer denies your claim, you can take legal action against them with the help of an employment law attorney.

Unpaid overtime wages can be difficult for many employees to collect, especially if they don’t know how to do so. Make sure you follow the tips outlined in this post so you can collect any unpaid overtime wages owed to you.