Florida Wage Law

Pizza Delivery Drivers, the Minimum Wage and Split Pay

Rob — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:20:00 +0000

Many pizza delivery drivers are paid what is called a “split wage” Drivers get a tip credit wage of say, $5.00 per hour, plus whatever tips they get from the customers. However, many drivers spend a considerable amount of time at the restaurant getting their orders ready for delivery or even waiting for the pizza to cook. This time spent inside the restaurant usually amounts to almost 1/2 of the 8 hour shift. In this case, its unfair for the driver to be paid the $5.00 per hour tip credit wage, so the law requires that the driver is paid at least the minimum wage for all of this time spent inside the restaurant. The restaurant is required to keep track of all of the hours the drivers spend inside and outside the restaurant, so that the driver receives at least a minimum wage for all hours worked.

What happens in reality is that the restaurants often will not track this time and pay the driver only the tip credit wage for all or most of the hours, regardless of the fact that the driver may be spending a large percentage on their time inside the restaurant performing non-delivery tasks. This practice is prevalent in the pizza delivery industry throughout the nation, and it runs afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

If you have worked as a tipped pizza delivery driver anywhere in the United States, and have not received the minimum wage for those hours spent inside the restaurant, you should contact Robert S. Norell immediately to discuss your case. Click here to tell us about your case.

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General Sales Manager for automobile dealership recovers $245,000 for alleged race and national origin discrimination

Rob — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:55:54 +0000

This client claimed that his employer terminated him because of his race and national origin. After filing a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Robert S. Norell litigated a claim against this large well-known South Florida automobile dealership. Because the dealership’s reason for terminating this client was easily discredited, the dealership and its attorneys understood that the client would likely prevail. After a mediation and continued settlement discussions, the dealership finally paid an amount to compensate this client for his wrongful termination.

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Florida’s Minimum Wage Increased by 12 Cents, to $7.79/hr, effective Jan. 1, 2013

Rob — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:38:42 +0000

Florida’s minimum wage has increased to $7.79 an hour, up 12 cents. Under a 2004 constitutional amendment, Florida’s minimum wage is recalculated every year and is tied to the inflation rate. The new minimum wage is expected to increase annual incomes of minimum wage workers by about $200 to $400 a year, depending on the number of hours that Florida’s minimum wage paid employees may work. If you do not receive the proper minimum wage, or if your employer retaliates against you for complaining about not being fully compensated under the law, call wage and hour attorney Robert S. Norell for a free consultation.

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Licensed Practical Nurse paid salary recovers $12,000 in unpaid overtime

Rob — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:20:35 +0000

This client worked as a licensed practical nurse for a medical doctor. She was paid a straight salary, but required to work through her lunch break and also required to stay until the last patient was seen by the doctor. She was paid a salary that was based on 40 hours per week. In just under 2 months after filing suit, Robert S. Norell was able to negotiate a settlement with the doctor that compensated the client for all of her unpaid overtime, an equal amount for liquidated damages, and a separate amount for her reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

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Florida’s Minimum Wage Increased to $7.31 per hour

Rob — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:31:18 +0000

Effective June 1, 2011, the Florida minimum wage was increased from $7.25 to $7.31 per hour. Florida’s minimum wage law requires the Agency for Workforce Innovation to calculate an adjusted minimum wage rate each year. This year there is only a $.06 increase. The minimum wage applies to all employees in the state who are covered by the federal minimum wage (the vast majority of workers are covered).

Florida employers must pay their employees at least $7.31 for each hour worked during the work week. The definitions of “employer”, “employee”, and “wage” for state purposes are the same as those established under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Employers of “tipped employees” who meet eligibility requirements for the tip credit under the FLSA, may count tips actually received as wages under the Florida minimum wage. However, the employer must pay “tipped employees” a direct wage. The direct wage is calculated as equal to the minimum wage ($7.31) minus the 2003 tip credit ($3.02), or a direct hourly wage of $4.29 as of June 1, 2011. So this means that tipped employees must receive a pay check with the tip credit wage. Some tipped occupations are very lucrative. There are employers that take advantage of that and “allow” its tipped employees to work without receiving a tip credit wage. This is a common practice and its illegal.

If you are not being paid at least a minimum wage, you may bring a civil action against the employer or any person violating Florida’s minimum wage law. Contact Robert S. Norell, P.A. for help in recovering your unpaid minimum wages.

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Keeping track of wages: The US Labor Department has an app for that!

Rob — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:30:09 +0000

The following is a May 9, 2011 news release from the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. I think this is a great tool for all employees who may have pay issues with their employers. Whether you use this “app” or any other system to document your hours, it’s always a good idea to keep track of your hours and cross check your records against your pay records.

New timesheet app to help ensure workers receive all wages earned

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the launch of its first application for smartphones, a timesheet to help employees independently track the hours they work and determine the wages they are owed. Available in English and Spanish, users conveniently can track regular work hours, break time and any overtime hours for one or more employers. Glossary, contact information and materials about wage laws are easily accessible through links to the Web pages of the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

Additionally, through the app, users will be able to add comments on any information related to their work hours; view a summary of work hours in a daily, weekly and monthly format; and email the summary of work hours and gross pay as an attachment.

This new technology is significant because, instead of relying on their employers’ records, workers now can keep their own records. This information could prove invaluable during a Wage and Hour Division investigation when an employer has failed to maintain accurate employment records.

“I am pleased that my department is able to leverage increasingly popular and available technology to ensure that workers receive the wages to which they are entitled,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “This app will help empower workers to understand and stand up for their rights when employers have denied their hard-earned pay.”

The free app is currently compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch. The Labor Department will explore updates that could enable similar versions for other smartphone platforms, such as Android and BlackBerry, and other pay features not currently provided for, such as tips, commissions, bonuses, deductions, holiday pay, pay for weekends, shift differentials and pay for regular days of rest.

For workers without a smartphone, the Wage and Hour Division has a printable work hours calendar in English and Spanish to track rate of pay, work start and stop times, and arrival and departure times. The calendar also includes easy-to-understand information about workers’ rights and how to file a wage violation complaint.

Both the app and the calendar can be downloaded from the Wage and Hour Division’s home Web page at http://www.dol.gov/whd. For more information about federal wage laws or to order a calendar by mail, call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

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Beauty supply store manager recovers over $15,000 in unpaid overtime.

Rob — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:08:25 +0000

A store manager for a national beauty supply chain was paid a salary, but did not supervise at least 2 full time employees. In fact, the store manager was the only employee of the store. The company assumed that the store manager was exempt because it paid her a salary and because most managers are generally exempt. Because the store manager was a “one woman show,” the company was not able to argue that she was exempt under the executive exemption. Instead, the company argued that the administrative exemption applied, however, it was clear that the store manager’s primary duty was to sell beauty supplies, merchandise the products, unload trucks, and otherwise run the store. These types of duties fall outside the administrative exemption. As store manager, she was required to attend several meetings and stay after hours, without any additional pay. She got fed up with having to work so many hours and consulted with Robert S. Norell, P.A. to see if there was anything she could do. Robert S. Norell, P.A. took her case and successfully negotiated a settlement with the company that compensated her for her unpaid overtime, plus an equal amount for liquidated damages, and paid all of her reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

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Admissions Counselor for Private University recovered over $25,000 for retaliation claim.

Rob — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 02:09:00 +0000

Admissions counselor was paid on based on a fluctuating work week, which resulted in her getting paid less the more hours that she worked. The fluctuating work week method of pay results in a worker receiving 1/2 time pay instead of full time and a half. She didn’t understand the way she was getting paid because she believed she was entitled to full time and a half. She complained about the manner in which she was paid, and shortly thereafter, the university retaliated against her by placing her on a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) and eventually terminated her employment. Robert S. Norell, P.A. successfully negotiated a settlement with the university that compensated the terminated admissions counselor for her lost wages and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

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Loan Officer for mortgage brokerage wins overtime judgment for $30,000.

Rob — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 02:09:00 +0000

A loan officer who worked for a mortgage brokerage in West Palm Beach was awarded $30,000 in unpaid overtime. The loan officer was paid commission only for all of her work, despite the fact that she worked approximately 48-50 hours per week. The mortgage brokerage incorrectly assumed that, since the loan officer was paid commissions only, it did not have to keep time records nor did it have to pay overtime. The mortgage brokerage argued that the loan officers were exempt outside salespeople. Robert S. Norell, P.A. successfully demonstrated that the loan officer’s position was that of “inside sales,” and not subject to the outside sales exemption. Although many loan officers make some sales outside of the office, most sales are consummated inside the office via the telephone, fax and internet (e-mails). The judge issued an order finding the mortgage brokerage to be in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and awarded the loan officer all of her unpaid overtime, plus an equal amount for liquidated (double) damages, and a separate amount for her reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

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Three Nurses recovered over $100,000 in overtime.

Rob — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 02:09:00 +0000

Three LPNs who worked for a national nurse staffing company worked 70-80 hours weekly, but only received their straight hourly rate. The staffing agency incorrectly assumed that LPNs were exempt from overtime. Generally speaking, the only nurses who can be exempt from overtime are Registered Nurses (RNs). After a brief period of litigation, the staffing agency entered into a settlement agreement and paid the LPNs all of their unpaid overtime, an equal amount for liquidated damages, and a separate amount to cover the LPNs reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs.

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