How does a worker in Midland prove they were not paid overtime?
Midland, TX – Certain types of evidence are crucial for an unpaid overtime claim. As with any type of legal action, the plaintiff needs to prove their case through the use of evidence that meets the relevant burden of proof if they want to be given overtime that was never paid. Legal assistance from an experienced labor attorney is crucial to any kind of employment or wage claim, as this is a complex area of the law.
Which workers are eligible for overtime?
Proving the worker’s status and eligibility for overtime is a threshold issue that must be addressed. Many employers illegally tell their workers that they are exempt and not eligible for overtime pay based on the type of employee that they are. However, in most cases employees are entitled to overtime unless they are certain types of executives, administrators, or sales representatives. Independent contractors are not considered actual employees of a company, and they are not generally eligible for overtime either.
Records of hours and pay
All workplaces are required by law to keep some kind of records of each employee’s hours and pay statements. These should be available for examination and copies can be given to the worker for the purposes of their claim. If these documents are not available for some reason, there may be security logs or computer records, surveillance from management, or the employee’s own records and testimony which prove that they actually were working at the time. Many times there is also a supervisor or manager that works hours which coincide directly with those who work beneath them. Testimony from customers or other coworkers can also be used to show that a worker stayed late on certain days, or did so regularly as part of their standard job duties.
Improper calculations by the employer
There may be situations where any employer has all of the right records of times that an employee worked, but did not pay them overtime for hours in excess of forty within a week. In these situations, it can be simple for anyone reviewing the records to determine that the additional hours should have been paid at an overtime rate. In more egregious cases, there may be evidence that someone working in payroll or human resources actually subtracted time from a worker’s timesheets so that they would not need to be paid completely or paid overtime hours. In some cases this may be purposely done so that it appears there is no legitimate reason to give the worker overtime.
Assistance from a local employment lawyer
Unpaid wages and overtime, sexual harassment, discrimination, and many other workplace problems can result in legal action. Moore and Associates is an experienced firm that helps workers with these kinds of issues in Midland, Texas.
Firm contact info:
440 Louisiana Street, Suite 675, Houston, TX 77002
713-222-6775
www.mooreandassociates.net
