Legal Question in Employment Law in Georgia
I feel like my employer is intimidating me to resign, and I think it is illegal that she is trying to refuse to pay me overtime.
1 Answer from Attorneys
It is unlawful for an employer who is "engaged in interstate commerce" to refuse to pay overtime to a non-exempt employee who works more than 40 hours in a 7 consecutive day pay period. The employer can be liable for the unpaid overtime (going back as much as 3 years) . The employer will be liable for an additional amount equal to the unpaid overtime as liquidated damages. It is also illegal for an employer to fire an employee in retaliation for insisting on being paid overtime. You could collect your full backpay (plus liquidated damages equal to the backpay) if she fires you. Keep good records ofmthe time you actually work each day (starting and stopping times, lunch breaks etc.) When our firm represents employees in such cases we insist that the employer pay the full amount of back pay, the full amount of liquidated damages, and in addition, we collect our fees from the employer, not from the employee. This is one area of employment law in which employees can win their cases (assuming they are non-exempt which isn't the same as "salaried").