Employment Litigation: Unpaid Wages And Overtime Class Actions  

When employers do not comply with wage and hour laws and employees receive lower pay as a result, this set of circumstances can be described as wage theft.

Examples of wage and hour violations are compelling workers to work more than 40 hours a week without receiving overtime pay and forcing employees to work off-the-clock before or after their shifts or during break times. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state laws set minimum wage levels. Failing to compensate employees accordingly is illegal. Initiating or joining a class action lawsuit is a cost-effective way for many workers to pursue back pay and other compensation in such cases.

Types Of Wage And Hour Claims

The class action attorneys at Edelson Lechtzin LLP have a great deal of experience and a track record of success with claims on behalf of workers with complaints against their employers such as the following:

• Unpaid overtime and minimum wage violations: Employers must keep accurate records and follow youth employment rules. If your employer is eligible to use the “8 and 80” system, by which a two-week, fourteen-day time period is used for the calculation, you may want to verify that the employer is not abusing this system through faulty accounting.
• Off-the-clock work and missed meal and rest breaks: The U.S. Department of Labor defines an employee’s “hours worked” in these words: “all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer’s premises or at any other prescribed place of work.”¹ Pre-shift meetings, required cleanup duties after work and time spent driving from one job site to another all count as work.
• Exempt employee, independent contractor misclassification or gig economy worker misclassification: Is your employer misclassifying you to avoid paying overtime or covering you with health insurance?
• Donning and doffing: Are you required to change into a uniform at your workplace, but not paid for this time?
• Chinese overtime, tip pooling and inaccurate paystubs: If you believe you are being exploited, chances are it is the case.

You may have lost wages that you can recover through legal action. We have helped many clients do the same.

Free Consultation; No Fees Without Recovery

We normally handle unpaid wages and overtime class action cases on a contingent-fee basis. This means that we won’t get paid fees unless we obtain a recovery for you.

If your employer has required you to work off-the-clock, please contact us at 844-696-7492 or send an email inquiry to learn about class action lawsuits and other legal remedies that may correct the wrongdoing by your employer.

¹ See https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa/off-the-clock

Case Results

In Arrington v. Optimum Healthcare IT, LLC., No. 17-3950, 2018 WL 5631625 (E.D. Pa. 2018), our Partner Eric Lechtzin was a member of a team of lawyers that obtained $4.9 million settlement of class action alleging failure to pay overtime to IT consultants, who were misclassified as independent contractors.

In Meyer v. The LandTek Group, Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-00161-AYS (E.D.N.Y.), Mr. Lechtzin successfully recovered wages for unpaid off-the-clock time on behalf of a group of construction laborers who were “engaged to wait” before their shifts.