Rectifying Substandard Wages and Oppressive Working Hours

By Scott Adams | Employment Law Attorney
Published on August 4, 2015

 

The Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”) was enacted to protect workers from substandard wages and oppressive working hours.  It was enacted to remedy labor conditions that are detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and the general well-being of America’s work force. The FLSA was passed to protect workers’ standards of living through the regulation of working conditions. Thus, the FLSA imposes a minimum wage that all covered employees must receive. The FLSA also imposes a “premium” for every hour worked in excess to the statutory standard of a forty (40) hour workweek. By enacting the foregoing, Congress has required that if an employer has an employee working greater than forty (40) hours in a workweek to the detriment of the employee’s health and wellbeing, the employer must pay the employee at a premium rate of not less than one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay.

Due to the unequal bargaining power inherent in the employer/employee relationship, Congress created a mechanism within the FLSA which allows them to proceed collectively. This is because the exploitation of a class of workers who are in an unequal position with respect to bargaining power and are thus relatively defenseless against the denial of a living wage is not only detrimental to their health and well being but casts a direct burden for their support upon the community. What these workers lose in wages the taxpayers are called upon to pay.

The Employment Lawyers at LaBar & Adams, P.A. in Orlando, FL recently litigated a case collectively on behalf of a class of individuals that were misclassified as independent contractors when they were in fact employees. It was argued that the employer did this willfully to avoid paying the living wage each employee was entitled to receive and the premium pay the individuals were entitled to receive for working numerous hours over forty (40) in a given workweek. These employees were subject to working condition that were clearly detrimental to the general well-being of any citizen in American.

After aggressively litigating this case on behalf of the employees, the Employment Lawyers at LaBar & Adams, P.A. were able to recover all wages owed to the employees, as well as, the liquidated damages that each employee was entitled to receive.

If you know of someone that is classified as an independent contractor, he or she may have been intentionally misclassified so that the employer could avoid complying with those laws sought to protect the workforce of America. Such persons should contact an Employment Lawyer to have their situation evaluated.

The Employment Lawyers at Labar & Adams handle the full range of Plaintiffs’ employment issues, to include Title VII (discrimination), FLSA (overtime/minimum wage), FMLA (medical leave), USERRA (service member retaliation), ERISA (health & retirement plan issues), COBRA (health coverage issues), ARRA (medical benefit issues), FCRA (discrimination), Whistle-Blower Claims, Worker’s Compensation Retaliation, Unemployment, Unpaid Wages, etc.

If we can be of service to you, your clients, friends, or family, please do not hesitate to contact us at 1-866-680-4LAW or fill out our online form located at the top of the page and we will contact you shortly.