Cincinnati Wage and Hour Attorneys
Federal and state laws mandate the minimum wage that Ohio employers must pay employees and require overtime pay (1.5 times the hourly rate of pay) for certain employees who work more than 40 hours in one week. However, many employers attempt to avoid fully compensating their employees by misclassifying them as exempt or otherwise violating wage and hour laws.
If you are paid an hourly wage, your employer must pay you for every hour you work. This includes overtime and working through breaks or meals. If you believe your employer is violating wage and hour laws by depriving you of your proper paycheck, contact Mezibov Butler. Our wage lawyers can help you bring a wage and hour claim to collect unpaid wages, including unpaid overtime.
The Experience to Overcome Pay Violations
With more than 50 years of combined experience protecting Ohio workers, we understand all applicable laws in wage and hour cases, including Ohio’s Minimum Wage Laws (Ohio Revised Code 4111), Ohio’s Minor Labor Law (Ohio Revised Code 4109) and Ohio’s Prevailing Wage Law (Ohio Revised Code 4115), as well as the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Employers who commit FLSA violations or violations of Ohio wage and hour laws often do so in subtle ways that prevent employees from questioning their paychecks. Sometimes, the employer may not even be aware that it is violating an employee’s rights. However, our wage lawyers know.
Examples of Wage and Hour Violations
Wage and hour laws regulate payment to ensure fair compensation for services and work provided. If you believe your employer violated wage and hour laws, it may be because of the following:
- You are an hourly employee and were required to work overtime, which is more than eight hours a day, but were not paid for your overtime work.
- You are not being paid at least the minimum wage. In Ohio, minimum wage is $9.30 per hour for non-tipped employees.
- Your employer made you work time “off the clock,” either before or after you punched in or out for work. This might include time spent putting on safety gear or setting up before work. It might include time spent cleaning up or putting away equipment after work.
- Your employer requires that you show up early for work and makes you wait to punch in.
- Your employer does not allow you to take rest breaks or meal breaks.
These are a few examples of the many ways employers can violate wage and hour laws. If you are not paid a salary, you are protected under wage and hour laws. If you are a salaried worker, you are exempt from overtime laws. Our team can defend your rights in a wage and hour lawsuit. If your employer violated wage and hour laws, you may be able to recover monetary damages.
Improper Classification as a Salaried Employee
One of the most common reasons why workers are not paid overtime is because they are salaried and classified as exempt. However, the law requires that a position meet certain requirements in terms of the duties performed in order to legally have that exemption, and the duties cannot just be on-paper.
Our wage and hour lawyers can assess your situation and determine whether your employer has misclassified you as salaried, and therefore an exempt employee. If you have been misclassified as an exempt employee and are actually a nonexempt employee, your employer has violated the law. Our employment law firm can help you bring a wage and hour claim to protect your rights.
If you believe that your employer is denying you complete compensation, call Mezibov Butler at 513-621-8800 to discuss your issue with an experienced team of attorneys who can guide you through the complexities of state and federal wage and hour laws. You may also contact our firm online.