Are State Overtime Laws Different From Federal? Which May Apply To My Case?

There are some states that have their own independent overtime laws. As a general proposition, the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is the federal overtime law, provides a floor or minimum of the protections that employers have to provide to their employees in every state. There are some states that have gone above and beyond that and have provided additional protection or additional benefits in certain situations.

Is There A Statute Of Limitations For Filing An Overtime Lawsuit In Texas?

The statute of limitations is two years and in some situations, it can be extended to three years. What is important to remember with the statute of limitations is that it runs from the date of the filing of the lawsuit. If someone has been employed with an employer for five years before filing, the most that they can ever go back in time is three years prior to the filing of the lawsuit. The difference between the 2 year and 3 year is that for the court to extend it to the three year limitation, the court would have to find what is called a willful violation. There is no clear definition of what that means in the statute, but it has been interpreted in the past as things like has the employer been involved in any other lawsuits? Have they been involved in previous Department of Labor investigations? Have they failed to keep records of the hours that the employee or the employees worked?

Can I Bring A Case Against A Former Employer?

There is no requirement that you have to be currently employed to bring a case against an employer. One of the issues that tends to come up is whether the employer was aware that the employee was actually performing overtime work or working beyond their scheduled duty hours. In situations where the employer is not aware of an employee working overtime, the employee has an obligation to let the employer know that they are performing additional work, beyond their normal scheduled hours.

Additional Information On Overtime Pay Lawsuits

Liquidated damages come up in overtime cases. For example, an employee is owed $1000 in overtime wages. What liquidated damages does is provides a doubling of that amount, whereby another $1000 would be owed. Another component that is significant in these cases is attorney’s fees. Even if it’s a small claim of a few hundred dollars or a few thousand dollars, in addition to the liquidated damages, your employer may also be responsible for paying your reasonable attorney’s fees and costs associated with brining the lawsuit.

For more information on State And Federal Overtime Laws, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (281) 277-3066 today.