Unpaid Wages, Unpaid Overtime, and Unlawful Deductions in Minnesota.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA) mandate that employers:
1) pay their employees at least minimum wage for all hours worked; and
2) pay employees time and a half for overtime worked.
What is a collective action?
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act – FLSA – allows workers to pursue actions for unpaid minimum wage and unpaid overtime together in one, collective action. This allows employees who may not have much bargaining power on their own against a large corporation to band together and form a more powerful force to ensure that they are paid the wages that are due. A Minneapolis employment lawyer can provide more additional information regarding the FLSA.
The reason that Congress allows workers to pursue collective actions is that, oftentimes, the unlawful pay practices that applied to one employee (like working off the clock or misclassification) applied to all employees in that position – so all employees would be due their wages and overtime.
The way it works is that, after you bring a lawsuit for unpaid minimum wage or overtime under federal law, your employment lawyer would make a motion to certify your case as a collective action. Basically, we’d need to show that other workers are similarly situated to you, and were subject to the same unlawful practices. If the motion is granted, then the Court sends a mailing to all employees who have worked in that position over the past 3 years to inform them of the action and ask if they want to participate. If the employees want to participate, they just need to fill out the enclosed form and send it back in.
The reason that a collective action benefits you is that – generally speaking – the more employees that sign up, the more pressure is exerted on the employer and the more anxious they become to do the right thing and pay you what you’re owed.
For a legal consultation with a unpaid overtime class action lawyer serving Minneapolis, call 612-349-2729
What is a class action?
Minnesota law allows employees to pursue unpaid overtime, unpaid wages, and unlawful deductions as class actions with other employees. Again, this allows an individual employee who may not have much bargaining power on his own to join forces with other individual employees to form a more powerful force for the employer to deal with.
The process is that, after the lawsuit starts, we make a motion to the court to certify the case as class action. We basically need to show that your employer’s unlawful pay practices applied to other employees like you. If the Court grants the motion and certifies the class, then the Court sends a mailing to all employees who had the same position in the past 3 years and tells them that, if they want to opt out of the lawsuit, they can do so by filling out and sending in an enclosed form. Otherwise, they will be part of the class action.
The reason that a class action benefits employees is that – generally speaking – the more employees that form the class, the more pressure is exerted on the employer and the more anxious they become to do the right thing and pay you what you’re owed.
Minneapolis Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawyer Near Me 612-349-2729
What is the minimum wage in Minnesota and what is federal minimum wage?
By federal law, employers must pay their employees at least $7.25 per hour as minimum wage – that number hasn’t changed since 2009.
In Minnesota, though, the minimum wage is $10.59 per hour (for large employers). Because the state minimum wage is greater than federal minimum wage, Minnesota employees are entitled to the higher of the two – that is, Minnesota employees are entitled to be paid at least $10.59 per hour.
If your employer does not pay you at least $10.59 per hour, then it has violated the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act. Sometimes these violations are easy to spot, such as if an employer tells you that your hourly wage is less than $9.50.
But minimum wage violations also include off the clock work violations. Sometimes employers require employees to perform work “off the clock.” For example, your employer might tell you to:
- Be at work at least 10 minutes before the start of your shift, but don’t punch in until your shift starts;
- Put on certain equipment or your uniform before punching in – these are called “donning” claims;
- Take off your equipment or uniform while off the clock – these are called “doffing claims;
- Continue working off the clock at the end of your shift if you didn’t meet your performance goals for the day; or
- Tell you to come in on a weekend or early morning and work off the clock to meet performance goals.
All of this off the clock work could constitute minimum wage violations under both state and federal law. To see if you have a claim, take the number of hours that you actually worked (not just the time that you were paid for on the clock) and divide it by your pay for the week. If the number that you get is below $9.86, then you’ve got a minimum wage claim.
Even if you don’t have a minimum wage claim, you still have a breach of contract claim for hours worked off the clock. You and your employer have a contract (it doesn’t have to be in writing) for you to be paid a certain wage for all hours worked. If you’re working hours that your employer isn’t paying you for, then your employer has breached its employment agreement with you.
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When is overtime pay required under Minnesota law and federal law?
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act says that employers need to pay employees time and half for all hours over 40 that they work in a week.
The Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act says that employers need to pay Minnesota employees time and half for all hours over 48 that they work in a week.
You’re entitled to the protection of both federal and state overtime law. So if your employer isn’t paying you overtime for hours over 40, then you’ve got an overtime claim against your employer.
Sometimes these claims are easy to spot, like when your employer is just paying regular time even for hours worked over 40.
But you may also have overtime claims in cases of off the clock work. If your employer is making you work off the clock, and your off the clock time combines with your on the clock time to bring you over 40 hours in a week, then your employer owes you overtime for those hours. Off the clock time includes when your employer tells you to:
- Be at work at least 10 minutes before the start of your shift, but don’t punch in until your shift starts;
- Put on certain equipment or your uniform before punching in – these are called “donning” claims;
- Take off your equipment or uniform while off the clock – these are called “doffing claims;
- Continue working off the clock at the end of your shift if you didn’t meet your performance goals for the day; or
- Tell you to come in on a weekend or early morning and work off the clock to meet performance goals.
If your employer has made you work off the clock, then you may have an overtime claim. To understand whether you have a claim, take the number of hours that you actually worked in a week (not just the hours that you were paid for). If that number is greater than 40, then you likely have an unpaid overtime claim.
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What if my employer classified my job as salary and says I’m exempt from overtime?
It’s true that certain jobs are considered “exempt” from overtime rules – that means that employers don’t need to pay overtime to “exempt” employees who work over 40 hours. Jobs exempt from overtime pay include:
- Employees of certain seasonal amusement or recreational establishments (think: State Fair or carnivals);
- Employees of certain small newspapers;
- Farm workers employed on small farms;
- Babysitters;
- Highly compensated employees who do office work (or other non-manual work) and make $100,000 or more each year;
- Auto, truck, or farm salespersons and mechanics;
- Railroad and airline employees, taxi drivers, and certain employees of motor carriers; and
- “White collar” employees who perform management, administrative, or executive duties.
But employers often misclassify employees as salaried or exempt when they shouldn’t. For example, some employers try to classify secretaries as exempt because they perform administrative work. But for the administrative exception to apply, the employee’s primary duty must include the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance – most secretaries wouldn’t meet that test and therefore qualify for overtime pay.
If your employer misclassified you as a salaried employee or exempt employee, then you likely have a good overtime claim, because your employer owes you time and a half for all hours that you worked over 40.
To calculate your hourly rate, take your weekly salary and divide it by 40 – that’s your rate. Your employer owes you time and half of that amount for all hours that you worked over 40.
How do I prove a minimum wage or overtime claims if I don’t have records of the hours I worked?
Your employer is required by state and federal law to keep accurate records of all hours that you worked.
But, of course, sometimes employers don’t comply with the law, especially if they’re making employees work off the clock.
Of course it is fantastic evidence if you keep records of the hours that you worked off the clock – the more detailed the better. If you can, keep a diary with the date, time you started work, and the time you ended. That is very powerful evidence in a minimum wage or overtime case.
However, the law recognizes that most employees can’t do that and places the burden on employers to keep accurate records of hours worked by employees. Therefore, when an employee can show that an employer’s records are not accurate – by testifying that employees had to work off the clock – then the law allows employees to estimate the amount of time they worked off the clock in their testimony and submit that to the jury.
What if my employer isn’t allowing us to take rest and meal breaks?
Minnesota state law requires employers to provide employees working a shift of 4 hours or more sufficient time to use the restroom. If the break is less than 20 minutes, your employer can’t require you to punch out for it – it must be compensated.
If you work a shift of 8 hours, your employer must provide you at least 30 minutes for a meal break. That break, however, doesn’t need to be compensated like restroom breaks.
If your employer does not allow you to take restroom or meal breaks, you likely have a claim under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act.
What if my employer is taking deductions out of my paycheck?
The Minnesota Payment of Wages Act prohibits employers from taking deductions from employees’ paychecks for: lost or stolen property, damage to property, or to recover any other claimed indebtedness.
Even if you have authorized the deduction, most such authorizations are void under Minnesota law. The bottom line is that if your employer is taking money out of your paycheck, then you probably have a claim under the Minnesota Payment of Wages Act.
What should I do if my employer won’t pay me my last paycheck?
This is a common problem – so common that Minnesota law specifically addresses it.
If your employer won’t give you your last paycheck, the first thing you should do is send a letter or email asking for your last paycheck to your employer. Make sure to put the date on the letter and sign it. If possible, send it via certified mail so there’s a record of when your employer got it.
Your employer needs to pay you within 24 hours of receipt of the letter. If it doesn’t, then it owes you those wages plus an extra day’s wages up to 15 days for every day it doesn’t pay as a penalty.
What Kind of Damages Can I Get for Unpaid Wages, Unpaid Minimum Wage, Unpaid Overtime, or Unlawful Deductions?
For minimum wage and overtime claims, you can get the actual amount that you’re owed in minimum wage and overtime, plus an equal amount as liquidated damages. So you basically get twice the amount of actual damages that you’re owed. Additionally, your employer will be required to pay your attorney fees and costs of litigation, plus interest on the amount of wages it owed you.
For unlawful deductions, you can get the actual amount of money deducted plus an equal amount in liquidated damages – so again, twice the amount of actual damages. Also, if you win, your employer will be required to pay your attorney fees and costs of litigation, plus interest on the amount of deductions.
What is the statute of limitations for unpaid minimum wage and unpaid overtime claims?
Under both state and federal law, the statute of limitations for unpaid overtime and minimum wage claims is 2 years; and 3 years if we can prove willfulness by your employer. That basically means we need to show that your employer was reckless in disregarding the law – then we can go back 3 years for your damages.
Can My Employer Fire Me if I Make a Claim for Unpaid Wages or Unpaid Overtime?
No. The Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act, the Minnesota Payment of Wages Act, and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act all contain anti-retaliation provisions. If your employer terminates you for making a report or complaint of unfair or improper pay practices, then you’ve got a retaliation case in addition to your unpaid wages case.
What Should I do if my Employer isn’t Paying Overtime or Minimum Wage, or Making Us Work Off the Clock?
First of all, we’re sorry that you’re in this position. We know how hard you work, and you deserve to be paid for all of the hard work you do for your employer.
Second, call us to talk about your case.
Contact Our Minneapolis and St. Paul Class Action and Unpaid Overtime Attorneys.
You must act quickly when it comes to employment claims. If you wait, there may be strict statutes of limitation that will bar you from filing any claim at all against your employer. Call Madia Law today to discuss your case.
First, contact our office and tell us about your situation. You’ll talk with our staff for about 5-10 minutes. They’ll get some basic information about you and your case.
There’s some information that we’ll need when you call. We will want to know who you worked for, what kind of work you did, for how long you worked there, how much you earned, if/when you were terminated, the reason given by your employer for any discipline and termination, and why do you think your employer did something unlawful or wrongful. If you have this information handy, it will allow us to proceed more quickly.
We will get back to you shortly – usually within a few hours. If your potential case is a little outside of our wheelhouse, we may refer you to attorneys, agencies, or organizations that we think might be better suited to handle your situation. Our goal is to ensure you get the best and most appropriate help possible for your particular situation. If that’s not us, we’ll try to tell you immediately and point you in the right direction.
If we think that we might be able help you, we’ll set an appointment for you to talk with one of our employment lawyers. We’ll discuss your case, and give you our honest assessment of its strengths, weaknesses, and value. If we then mutually agree that Madia will represent you, we will talk about the process of moving forward with your case.
When you talk with our employment lawyers, please be sure to have all relevant documents that you have in your possession. For example, that could include: pay-stubs, personnel files, employment handbooks/policies, letters from your employer (including your termination letter), any text messages or emails that you think are important, and any other documents that you think might be helpful.
Representative Case
We represented “Maria” – a housekeeper at a hotel run by a national hotel management company. The company mandated that Maria and her coworkers work 20-30 minutes off-the-clock in the morning, before their shifts, as well as 30-60 minutes off-the-clock in the afternoons several days per week. Additionally, the company denied Maria and her peers meal breaks – and even restroom breaks. Finally, Maria’s supervisor stole the tips left for housekeepers by hotel guests. Madia won collective and class certification for the housekeepers in federal court. After two years of litigation, the company settled the case for an average recovery of $20,000 per plaintiff.
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