Brooklyn Overtime Lawyers

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York’s boroughs. Renowned for its diversity and culture, Brooklyn is home to a large number of technology and service industry workers. Employers in these industries are known for pushing their employees to work long hours, and some of these workers may be deprived of overtime. A worker who knows his rights when it comes to overtime is better prepared to protect those rights should an employer violate them. The Brooklyn overtime attorneys of Phillips & Associates have years of experience protecting the rights of the borough’s workers. If your employer owes you overtime wages, Phillips & Associates can help.

Nonexempt Brooklyn Workers Are Entitled to Overtime

Overtime law in New York is straightforward. If you are eligible for overtime, your employer must pay you time and a half for any hours in excess of 40 you work in a seven-day workweek. This means that if you usually are paid $20 an hour, you will earn $30 an hour for all the time in excess of 40 hours that you work. The only measure of work that matters in New York for overtime purposes is the number of hours worked per week.

Job Duties Determine Overtime Eligibility

The primary law that governs overtime in the United States is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and New York is subject to the FLSA. The FLSA says that all workers are eligible for overtime unless the worker falls into one of the exempt categories. Thus, workers who are eligible for overtime are called nonexempt employees because they are not exempt from overtime rules. Workers who cannot earn overtime are called exempt employees.

To distinguish between nonexempt and exempt workers, the only determining factor is the employee’s job duties. If an employee’s primary job duties are executive, administrative or professional (including teachers), the employee is exempt from the FLSA and not entitled to overtime. There are few other exempt categories, but these three cover the majority of exempt employees.

How an employee is paid does not have any effect on whether he is exempt or nonexempt. Many salaried employees are nonexempt employees, and hourly employees can be exempt.

Employees Can Recover Back Overtime Wages

Nonexempt employees who have been deprived of back overtime pay may file a lawsuit against their employer. If their suit is successful, the plaintiff is entitled to back pay plus liquidated damages, which is a legal term that means a set amount of damages. In FLSA cases, liquidated damages are equal to the amount of back pay owed to the employee. Thus, employees who win their overtime cases are entitled to twice the amount of back pay owed to them.

Get the Money You Have Earned

If you have been deprived of overtime pay, your employer may have violated federal and state law. Phillips & Associates is comprised of Brooklyn wage and hour attorneys who know the law well. We will fight to get the money that you have worked hard to earn. Call (866) 229-9441 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free case evaluation.