QUESTION
EMPLOYED BY A SECURITY COMPANY WORKED OVER 40 HOURS AND WAS NOT PAID OVERTIME BECAUSE WE WERE LABELED AS CONTRACTOR.
Asked on Sep 13th, 2012 on Labor and Employment - Tennessee
More details to this question:
Employed and worked for a security company in a uniform that had their company name on it . worked over 40 hours and was paid straight pay . We had to use 1099 forms to file our taxes at the end of the year and was labeled contractors for the company. We were paided bi- weekly in the form of a check by this company with untaxed money and was told we actually work for ourselves therefore, no overtime pay was given. My question is was and am I entitled to overtime pay from this company?
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1 ANSWER
Labor and Employment Attorney serving Atlanta, GA
2 Awards
It is very doubtful that the company could have a relationship with you that is a true independent contractor relationship as defined under cases interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This means that in all likelihood they owe you overtime for all the time you worked in excess of 40 hours in a 7 day work week. This also is most likely a willful violation of the FLSA, which means you should be able to collect the unpaid overtime plus an equal amount as liquidated damages, plus your attorneys fees going back 3 years from the date you file a lawsuit in federal court to recover the unpaid overtime.
You should contact an employment lawyer who represents plaintiffs. Since you are in Tennessee you probably should look for a local employment law specialist. The longer you wait to bring a case, the more back pay and damages you will lose because of the 3 year statute of limitations for willful violations of the FLSA.
Michael Caldwell
404-979-3150
Answered on Sep 14th, 2012 at 11:56 AM