Protecting Georgia Workers from Overtime Wage Theft
Most nonexempt employees are entitled under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to overtime compensation at one and one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Employers sometimes deny that pay through misclassification, incomplete time records, off-the-clock requirements, improper deductions, or incorrect overtime calculations.
Overtime Rights Under the FLSA
Overtime rights are not limited to hourly employees. Salaried and day-rate employees may also be nonexempt if their actual duties do not satisfy a recognized exemption. Compensable work performed before or after a shift, during an unpaid break, or remotely may count toward the 40-hour threshold when the employer requires, permits, knows of, or should know of the work.
Common Overtime Violations
- Misclassifying employees as independent contractors.
- Misclassifying salaried employees, supervisors, or managers as exempt.
- Requiring pre-shift, post-shift, remote, or meal-period work without recording the time.
- Editing or “shaving” time records to reduce recorded hours.
- Using automatic meal deductions when the employee actually works through the break.
- Paying a flat salary or day rate without the additional overtime required by law.
- Averaging hours across two workweeks instead of calculating overtime week by week.
- Failing to include required bonuses, commissions, or incentive compensation in the regular rate.
- Asking employees to waive overtime rights or accept straight-time pay for overtime hours.
Available Remedies
Depending on the facts, employees may recover unpaid overtime for the applicable limitations period, an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, and attorneys' fees and costs. Federal law also prohibits retaliation for asserting protected wage rights.
How an Overtime Claim Proceeds
- Case review: compensation, schedules, time records, duties, policies, and communications are analyzed.
- Damage calculation: the regular rate and unpaid hours are reconstructed from available records and testimony.
- Demand or filing: some cases begin with settlement discussions; others require court proceedings.
- Collective action: when similarly situated workers are affected, an FLSA collective action may be appropriate.
- Resolution: the case may resolve through negotiation, mediation, motion practice, or trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do salaried employees receive overtime?
Many do. Salary alone is not an exemption; the employee must satisfy the requirements of an applicable exemption.
What if I am called an independent contractor?
The label does not control. Courts examine the economic reality of the working relationship.
How far back can an employee recover?
The FLSA generally provides a two-year limitations period, extended to three years for willful violations.
Can the employer retaliate?
The FLSA prohibits retaliation against workers who engage in protected wage-and-hour activity.