Houston Overtime Attorney and FLSA Lawyer

When your employer owes you unpaid wages for the hours you’ve worked, you need an experienced Houston overtime attorney. At our employment law firm, we fight to protect workers’ rights. Contact the Houston FLSA attorneys at Craighead Law Firm for a consultation today. 

Houston’s Unpaid Overtime Lawyer

We are the Top-Rated Houston Overtime Attorney because we fight for our clients. Our attorneys listen to you and help you get what you deserve. We help our clients get paid for a wide variety of damages.

These damages include costs related to the following

  • wrongful discharge
  • unpaid overtime hours
  • retaliation
  • disability discrimination
  • violation of medical leave (FMLA) rights
  • workers compensation
  • sexual harassment

The list goes on from there, but suffice to say, we cover a wide range of cases regarding employment laws. We make a living fighting for our clients. Typically, we don’t get paid anything in attorney fees unless we win.

We won’t back down against your current or former employer either.
Whether a salaried worker or a minimum wage hourly employee, we can help anyone whose employer avoids paying overtime.

At our law office, we represent employees with wage and hour disputes. So let our employment lawyers go up against the company’s legal team for you.

Overtime Lawyers Who Fight With Cause

Let the experienced overtime attorneys on our team fight for you. As with our other clients, you will be glad you called when you did. You can see what some of our clients say about us on this page below. Our attorneys will fight for your unpaid wages when your employer denies or withholds your overtime pay.

In short, every single client review gives us 5 out of 5 stars. So it’s not a matter of a few of our clients, and it’s more than most of them: It’s every one of them.

Every. Single. One.

Employers are generally required to pay one and one-half times an employee’s regular pay rate for all hours worked beyond 40 hours in a work period. This rule can apply to salaried, commissioned, and hourly employees. Most importantly, if you work more than 40 hours in a workweek and want to ensure you receive proper compensation, contact the overtime lawyers at the Craighead Law Firm in Houston, TX, for a consultation.

Overtime Law And Minimum Wage (FLSA)

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covers specific employees and lays out rules for overtime violations. Often, people find these laws challenging to navigate, and a Houston FLSA attorney-client relationship can be quite beneficial.

Unfortunately, some employers use this confusion to avoid paying their workers proper compensation. Whether you are an independent contractor or an hourly employee, we can help you determine whether your employer owes you unpaid wages.

Am I Entitled to Overtime Pay?

This question depends entirely on whether you are exempt from overtime. A typical example here is employees of non-profit organizations in the United States. Considered exempt employees, labor and employment laws regarding overtime wages may not apply to them.

Should they work off the clock, as they often do, their employer typically provides some form of alternative compensation. To sum up, exempt employees usually do not qualify for overtime.

If you are a non-exempt employee, you are entitled to overtime pay whenever you work more than 40 hours in a workweek. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must pay non-exempt workers who have worked over 40 hours in a workweek an overtime rate. This rate is one and one-half times their regular pay rate per hour worked (over the initial 40).

If you have questions about your employee classification or overtime pay, our experienced overtime lawyers are ready to work with you. We can answer any questions you might have. But, above all, if you are entitled to compensation from your employer, we will fight for you.

As overtime lawyers, we often hear from people who have common misconceptions that lead eligible employees to believe that they do not qualify for overtime pay. 

However, if any of the below situations apply to you, your employer may owe you unpaid wages. Most importantly, as you read, take note of any problem that sounds familiar to you. Afterward, you may realize you are due compensation. 

Understanding Overtime FLSA Claims

Suing Your Employer for Unpaid Overtime

Federal and state law mandates that employers pay their employees a minimum wage and overtime for hours worked over 40 hours a week. As the top Houston FLSA Attorney, I know there are exceptions to overtime rules that prevent certain employees from receiving overtime pay. However, employers often try to misuse those exceptions or trick employees into believing an exception applies. These claims commonly arise under the Fair Labor Standards Act (or “FLSA”) and can be very complicated for a layperson to figure out. If you have suspicions about your wages, you should contact us immediately.

There’s no use sitting by idly wondering or, worse yet, falling prey to your employer’s potential misrepresentations about your wages and what your employer owes you. 

Call us today or fill out our contact form, and an experienced overtime attorney will review your case. We will establish whether you are due unpaid wages and advocate on your behalf.

Common Misconceptions about Overtime

  • “Salaried employees are not entitled to receive overtime.” Firstly, this is one of the most common misconceptions about overtime claims. Secondly, salaried and hourly employee statuses do not determine entitlement to overtime. Moreover, overtime eligibility typically depends on whether you are an “exempt” employee.
  • “I didn’t request permission for overtime hours before I completed the task.” When it makes sense that your employer would know that the work requires additional time, you still deserve overtime pay.
  • “My work requires me to attend training sessions and meetings at the company, and they tell me this time is not compensable.” When your employer requires these meetings or training sessions, that is compensable time. For example, attending a safety meeting should count towards your workweek.
  • “I am required to come in early but not allowed to clock in until my scheduled start time.” Any time that your employer requires of you is compensable time. When your manager requires you to be at work before your official start time, you deserve to pay for that time.
  • “Only my regular wage is used to calculate overtime even though I earn commissions and bonuses.” It is a general rule that your employer should use all compensation you receive when calculating your overtime pay rate. This calculation certainly includes commissions and often includes bonuses.

Do you need help determining how your employer calculates your overtime pay? Does your employer owe you wages for overtime hours? Our experienced Houston employment lawyers are here to answer your questions.

Houston FLSA Attorney Remedies

The FLSA is a burdensome statute to understand because it is very complex. In general, employees are entitled to time and a half for each hour they work above 40 hours in a workweek. 

There are exceptions to the rule, however. For example, executives, certain employees paid by salary, and various highly-compensated employees are not entitled to overtime pay.

Still, you may be entitled to overtime pay even if you receive a salary. This is because an employee’s entitlement to overtime pay is not based on whether they receive a salary alone. Our overtime attorneys know how to navigate these complex laws and determine whether you are exempt from overtime.

When an employee brings a lawsuit to a Houston FLSA Attorney based on unpaid overtime and wages and wins, they are entitled to an award of damages which may include:

  • What they should have been paid over the last two years (or three years in certain circumstances);
  • Liquidated damages, or a doubling of what the employee should have been paid over the last two years (or three years in certain circumstances); and
  • Attorneys’ fees and costs.

Remedies may also include punitive damages if the employer retaliated against the employee for asserting rights under the FLSA.

Houston FLSA Attorney FAQs

Is overtime law the same in every state?

Overtime provisions are outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is a federal law. Overtime rights and restrictions, therefore, are the same from state to state. Other labor laws may differ by state, including minimum wage and workers’ compensation.

Who administers rights under the FLSA?

The Wage and Hour Division administers everything detailed in the FLSA.

Is overtime pay only for employees of certain businesses?

According to the Department of Labor, the FLSA’s overtime provisions apply to employees who work for businesses that engage in interstate commerce, usually not less than $500,000 in annual dollar volume of business. However, the Act also applies to some businesses regardless of annual dollar volume, like hospitals, domestic service companies, and higher education institutions.

Who is exempt from overtime law?

There are exempt and nonexempt employees as it applies to overtime provisions in the FLSA. Some examples of exempt employees include executives, outside salesmen, “skilled computer professionals,” farm workers who work on small farms, and babysitters.

Talking to Us is Easy

  1. Enter your details into the “Contact Us” form
  2. A Houston Overtime Attorney will call you back
  3. We will let you know if we can help
  4. You owe us nothing unless we recover money for you

Vital Information for Your Case

Before you meet with one of our overtime lawyers, please be sure to gather any information and documents you have from your employer. This information is incredibly useful in your consultation and can be vital to your case. For instance, your pay stubs and work schedules may show conflicting information that could easily sway the court in your favor.

  • Pay stubs
  • Work schedules 
  • Records of complaints made
  • Offer letters 
  • Employee handbooks 
  • Time records 
  • Emails regarding the time and work in question
  • Contact info of coworkers as potential witnesses
  • Any relevant audio or video recordings 

Houston Overtime Attorney Areas of Service

The Craighead Law Firm, PLLC, is located in Houston, Texas. We represent clients throughout Houston and the State of Texas, including in Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Montgomery, and Galveston counties.