Managers at Steak ‘N Shake recently won a $7.7 million judgement awarded by a jury for unpaid wages, liquidated damages and attorney’s fees. The case focused on the lengthy weekly hours the managers were completing without receiving any overtime compensation.
Often times managers are classified by a company as exempt from receiving overtime pay. This usually means they are paid a set salary regardless of the hours they work per week. Even though this set up is the norm, it is not always legal. If a manager’s job finds them mostly completing work that is considered non-exempt and mainly hands on, such as cleaning, cooking and taking orders, they may likely be entitled to overtime pay.
Under federal law, overtime can be calculated a couple of ways, but regardless of the method agreed upon, a worker must be paid overtime when working over 40 hours per week at time and a half their regular hourly rate. These Steak ‘N Shake managers were working 50-70 hours per week and spent their time mainly on non-exempt tasks entitling them to overtime pay.
Whether you are a manager in the restaurant industry or an office setting, your job duties may say more about the pay you’re entitled to receive than your actual job title. Speaking to an employment lawyer could be beneficial in understanding whether or not your job tasks allow you to receive overtime pay. If you are overtime eligible and have otherwise been misclassified as exempt from overtime you may be owed significant unpaid overtime wages.
Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP specializes in wage and hour employment law and has successfully recovered over 100 million dollars for its clients in owed wages. Call one of our available representatives now for a free phone consultation at (212) 300-0375 or visit our website for additional information.