It’s crucial to understand your rights as an employee in Florida. You deserve to be fairly compensated for your work, especially if that work falls outside the regular workweek.
In this article, we’ll discuss the overtime protections that employees are granted under Florida law.
Overtime Protections Under The FLSA
The Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, is a federal law that sets regulations for minimum wage, recordkeeping, youth employment, and overtime for most professions. While Florida doesn’t have state laws for overtime compensation, Florida employees are protected under the FLSA.
In Florida, employers must adhere to the FLSA’s overtime rules, which require overtime compensation of one and a half times the regular pay rate for all hours exceeding the 40-hour workweek.
Additionally, certain U.S. states have a daily overtime limit, but Florida isn’t one of them.
FLSA Overtime Exemptions
There are exemptions under the FLSA that exclude certain employees from the overtime pay provisions. So, to qualify for overtime protection under the FLSA, employees must receive a salary under $684 per week or $35,568 per year.
Employees who have an executive, administrative, outside sales, professional, or computer-related position are exempt from the FLSA overtime wage regulations. Additionally, independent contractors aren’t protected under the FLSA. However, employers must make sure that workers who are truly employees aren’t classified as independent contractors. Wrongly classifying employees as independent contractors is unlawful.
With this exemption in mind, most of the positions that qualify for overtime wages under the FLSA are blue-collar professions, such as paramedics, police officers, cashiers, carpenters, firefighters, gardeners, and factor attendants.
As Weldon and Rothman, PL, our skilled employment attorneys have vast experience in representing individuals who are looking to recover overtime compensation. If you’ve received less than proper compensation as a Florida employee, contact us today to schedule a free consultation.