New Jersey Unpaid Overtime Attorney

Protecting Against Unpaid Overtime in the Workplace

Nearly all employees who are paid by the hour are entitled under both federal and New Jersey state law to overtime. However, given that employees who work overtime (more than 40 hours in any week) are entitled to pay at 1 and ½ times their regular rate, employers often try to escape their obligation to pay overtime.

Here are some of the ways employers avoid their obligation to pay overtime:

• requiring you to work before clocking in, after clocking out, or during an unpaid lunch break;
• automatically deducting time from your pay for lunch breaks, regardless of whether you take the break or not;
• mandating you to attend company meetings without compensating you;
• not compensating you for on-call time;
• failing to pay you for time spent driving between meetings, appointments, or other locations during the workday;
• expecting you to work at home without compensation; or
• classifying you as a “manager” and paying you as a salaried employee when in fact, you should be treated as an hourly employee for purposes of overtime.

Even Though You Are Paid a Salary, You Still May be Entitled to Overtime Pay

Simply because your employer pays you a salary, you still may be entitled to overtime pay when you work more than 40 hours in any one week. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act lays out very detailed tests for whether an employee is “exempt” from the requirement to pay overtime.  For a review of whether your employer has properly classified you as an “exempt” employee, we would encourage you to contact Schall & Barasch by filling out the form on this website.

Can My Employer Require Me to Work Overtime?

In some cases, yes. An employer can require an employee to work overtime as long as it pays the appropriate overtime wages and does not violate existing employee-employer agreements. One of the exceptions to this rule exists with healthcare facilities. Healthcare facilities may only require overtime work as a last resort. They may not require employees to work overtime because they are understaffed. Before asking for employees to work overtime, they must first attempt to fill vacancies with volunteers, on-call employees, per-diem staff, and personnel staffed by temp agencies.

Contact Our Unpaid Overtime Attorneys

Attorney Patricia Barasch has been fighting against unfair employers for long enough to know the common schemes they use to cheat workers of wages. After many years of experience in fighting these unfair practices, she has developed effective strategies for recovering unpaid overtime for her clients. Patricia Barasch has earned a reputation as a tireless advocate for workers’ rights.