Ohio Overtime Wage Attorney Best Answer: As an intern, am I entitled to minimum wage? Are interns entitled to overtime compensation? Are “unpaid internship” illegal? How do I find a lawyer to sue my employer for not paying me overtime?
Here at Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, our wage and hour lawyers are committed to representing individuals who have been denied lawfully earned overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA“). (See Retaliation Under The Fair Labor Standards Act – Oral Complaints to an Employer Are Sufficient; and Top Wage and Hour Lawyer Reply: As A Salaried Employee, Am I Exempt From Overtime Pay?). One interesting question that surrounds the applicability of the FLSA is the payment of “interns.” (See Top Wage and Hour Lawyer Response: Is Everyone Entitled To Earn Minimum Wage?; Top Wage And Hour Lawyer Reply: Should I Get Paid For My Summer Internship?; and FLSA Question: When Do Unpaid “Interns” Become Unpaid “Employees?”).
The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular hourly rates for hours worked over 40 in each week. The FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are liable to the aggrieved employees for their back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. (See The FLSA Can Make A Damages Mountain Out Of Molehill Lost Wages).
Recently, Warner Music Group settled a wage theft lawsuit that had been brought by several of the company’s “unpaid” interns who claimed that their rights under the FLSA were being violated. The case, Grant v. Warner Music Group and Atlantic Recording Corporation, was originally filed back in June, 2013 in a United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking damages for violations of the FLSA, on behalf of the plaintiff Kyle Grant as well as several other potential plaintiffs as part of a collective action against Warner. Specifically, the wage and hour complaint alleges that Grant and countless other interns were denied minimum wage and overtime compensation in violation of federal law. After getting approval from the district court to send out notices to the putative class members, the parties reached a settlement in the amount of $4.2 million.
Interestingly, Warner reserved the right to terminate the settlement if the number of claimants under the collective action exceeds 1,135. Moreover, by agreement of the parties, pending court approval, the lawyers for Grant and the other interns may seek up to 18.6 percent of the settlement amount as attorney fees, or about $787,500.
The Warner settlement is just one of several similar settlements that have been reached between major corporations and their interns over the last few years, including Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal, Conde Nast, and Viacom, Inc.
If you believe that your employer is not paying you all of your wages for all of your lawfully earned overtime compensation at a rate of one and half times your normal wages as requires under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act or Ohio Minimum Fair Wage Standards laws or you are an nonexempt employee that has been misclassified as exempt or independent contractor, contact the attorneys at Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm today for a free and confidential initial consultation. The wage and hour lawyers at Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm will provide you with the best options for your overtime pay dispute situation. If you even think that you may be entitled to overtime pay that you are not being paid, call 866-797-6040.
Disclaimer:
The materials available at the top of this overtime, wage and hour web page and at this employment law website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you are still asking, “Am I entitled to overtime?”, “Does my job have to pay me for …”, “My paycheck is not right…” or “What do I do if…”, the your best option is to contact an Ohio overtime attorney to obtain advice with respect to FLSA questions or any particular employment law issue. Use and access to this employment law website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The legal opinions expressed at the top of this page or through this site are the opinions of the individual lawyer and may not reflect the opinions of Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, Brian Spitz, or any individual attorney.