How it usually happens
Under federal law and New York law, employees who are not exempt generally must be paid overtime for hours worked beyond the weekly threshold. Common problems include off-the-clock work before and after shifts, automatic meal deductions for breaks that were never taken, and work done remotely that never gets recorded. Overtime is also frequently underpaid when bonuses or commissions are left out of the rate used to calculate it. Classifying a worker as an independent contractor when the relationship is really employment is another frequent source of unpaid overtime. Calling the position a manager role or paying a salary does not by itself make someone exempt; exemption depends on the duties actually performed and on salary levels, and New York's salary levels for some exemptions are higher than the federal ones.
Building the hours record
Employers are required to keep time and pay records, but those records are sometimes incomplete or wrong. Keep your pay stubs, schedules, and the wage notice you received at hiring, and preserve messages, emails, and system logins that show when you were working. If you want to start tracking hours going forward, talk with a lawyer about how to do it so the record is reliable. Coworkers who worked the same schedule can be important, and many overtime cases proceed on behalf of a group. Retaliation for raising a wage complaint is prohibited under both federal and state law.
Choosing the route
Wage claims can be filed with the New York State Department of Labor or brought in court, and each route has different strengths. The lookback period for New York wage claims generally reaches further than the federal one, and additional damages are often available on top of the unpaid amount. If you signed an arbitration agreement, it may affect where and how the claim proceeds. We estimate the hours involved, review how the role was classified, and discuss whether to proceed individually or on behalf of others.
