Companies have an obligation to follow state and federal laws regarding how they treat their workers. They have an obligation to pay workers fairly for the services they provide. Workers can file wage claims in a variety of different scenarios.
Sometimes, companies refuse to pay workers for time worked after terminating those workers. Other times, employees may realize that a company’s policies have unfairly deprived them of time worked, such as a company practice of having workers come in one Sunday a month to help do a deep clean while off the clock.
Overtime wages that companies refuse to pay are the underlying cause of many wage and hour claims. With a looming change to federal overtime rules on the horizon, the chances are very good that there may soon be a noticeable increase in wage claims related to overtime pay specifically.
One key overtime rule is about to change
People generally talk about salaried workers as though they are exempt from overtime pay requirements. That is true in a significant number of cases but not in all cases. A salary has to meet certain standards to protect a company from overtime pay obligations. The previous standard, set in 2019, was slightly over $35,000 annually. The base salary that is exempt from overtime wage requirements increases to $43,888 as of July 2024.
It will increase again six months later on January 1, 2025. Beginning next year, workers must make at least $58,656 for companies to require that they work overtime without compensating them for that extra time. The new rule also requires a mandatory update to the exempt salary threshold at least every three years to help protect workers from abusive employment practices.
Many companies may fail to adjust their scheduling practices or payroll arrangements, leading to workers not receiving the overtime pay that they should under the new federal rule. Those workers may then decide to take legal action against the company that has violated their rights according to federal standards.
Pursuing wage and hour claims can help those who have not received the overtime pay that they deserve. Workers familiar with changing federal standards can potentially recognize wage violations when they occur.
