Right to Fair Pay and the Fair Labor Standards Act
Some states have their own fair pay laws that provide employees with more rights than what employees have under federal law. It is important for employees in Florida to know that this state does not have any of these state-based fair pay laws, which means that a Palm Beach Gardens employee’s rights to fair pay are governed by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This federal law has been around for approximately 100 years, and it provides employees throughout the country with a range of rights concerning fair pay. What are the rights you have under the FLSA? And what should you do if your rights under the FLSA are violated? Our Palm Beach Gardens wage and hour lawyers can tell you more.
Minimum Wage
The FLSA requires employers to pay non-exempt employees at least the minimum wage for hours worked. The federal minimum wage is actually lower than Florida’s minimum wage, which means that employers in Florida must ensure that all non-exempt employees are paid at least the state’s minimum wage, which is $13.00 per hour up until September 2025. On September 30, 2025, the minimum wage will increase to $14.00 per hour, and then it will increase one last time on September 30, 2026 to $15.00 per hour.
Your employer cannot make deductions from your paycheck — even if the deductions are otherwise permitted — that would result in you earning less than the minimum wage per hour.
Overtime Pay
Non-exempt employees also must be paid overtime wages at the rate of 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. In other words, if you earn $20.00 per hour in your job, if you work 45 hours in a week, 5 of those hours are “overtime” hours and must be compensated at the rate of $30.00 per hour (1.5 times $20.00 per hour).
Whether an employee is non-exempt or exempt depends on a number of factors, including whether the employee is salaried and the salary threshold, as well as the type of job and duties the employee has.
Counting Hours Worked
The FLSA requires employers to pay employees for all of their hours worked, regardless of whether the employee is performing work duties at a particular office or at a prescribed workplace, and including when the employee is on duty. The FLSA does not require employers to offer break time, but when employers do offer short breaks and meal periods, they must comply with the FLSA. Employees must be compensated for short breaks, and employees must have any longer meal periods entirely to themselves (without any required work duties), or else the meal period is also compensable.
Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Wage and Hour Lawyer for Assistance
If you believe your FLSA rights were violated and you were not paid fairly for your work, you may be able to file an FLSA claim with assistance from a lawyer. You should get in touch with one of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens wage and hour attorneys at Sconzo Law Office to discuss the details of your case and to begin working on your claim. Contact our firm today to find out more about how we can help you with your wage theft case in South Florida.
Sources:
dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa
dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state#fl
