Regardless of the number of employees your employer has, it must adhere to the law regarding payment of minimum wages or overtime. Under most circumstances, you must be paid minimum wage (currently $7.25) for all hours worked. You must also be paid overtime wages (time and a half) for all hours worked over 40 per week unless a specific “exemption” applies to you. Workers often believe simply because they are classified as “salaried” rather than “hourly” they are not entitled to payment of overtime. This is NOT necessarily true. Whether or not you are entitled to payment of overtime depends on the nature of your job duties, not whether you are or are not classified as salaried or hourly.

Employers oftentimes inadvertently (or sometimes deliberately) misclassify employees to avoid payment of taxes, minimum wages, and/or overtime wages. Whether or not you are truly an independent contractor depends on the nature of your job, not the classification your “employer” has assigned to you.

If you believe you may be misclassified as an independent contractor, misclassified as salaried and are not being paid overtime, or if you believe you are entitled to unpaid minimum or other wages, please contact us to learn more about your legal rights.