Yes—employees who share similar wage violations can join together in an FLSA collective action to recover unpaid wages, overtime compensation, and liquidated damages from their employer. This legal mechanism allows workers to pool resources and challenge systemic wage and hour violations that would be impractical to pursue individually. Under Section

Wage theft occurs when employers fail to pay workers the full wages they’ve legally earned—whether through unpaid overtime, minimum wage violations, illegal deductions, or misclassification schemes. In New York, employees have powerful protections under both federal and state law, and as of September 2023, wage theft is classified as larceny

Employee classification isn’t just paperwork—it determines whether you’re entitled to overtime pay for every hour you work beyond 40 in a week. If your employer has classified you as “exempt” when you should be “non-exempt,” you could be losing thousands of dollars annually in overtime compensation. Understanding the difference between

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) protects over 143 million American workers with minimum wage, overtime pay, and other fundamental workplace rights—but not every employee qualifies for these protections. Whether you’re covered depends on two key tests: enterprise coverage (based on your employer’s business) and individual coverage (based on your

If your employer controls when you work, how you do your job, and provides your tools and equipment, you may be an employee entitled to minimum wage, overtime pay, and other workplace protections—regardless of what they call you on paper. Independent contractor misclassification occurs when employers wrongly classify workers as

Tipped employees in New York and across the country have specific legal protections governing how employers can handle their tips. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets federal baseline rules, while New York provides stronger protections with higher minimum wages and stricter requirements for employers who want to take a

New York employees have strong legal protections when it comes to workplace breaks—stronger than federal law provides. If you work more than six hours in New York, you’re entitled to at least a 30-minute unpaid meal break, and factory workers receive even more generous protections. Understanding these rights helps you

If you’re working before your shift starts, after it ends, or during your lunch break without getting paid, your employer is likely violating federal and state wage laws. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to compensate non-exempt employees for all hours worked—including time spent on work activities outside their

If your employer is paying you less than the legally required minimum wage, you have significant legal protections and remedies available to you. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes a federal minimum wage floor, while New York State and New York City provide even stronger protections with higher minimum

Under federal and New York law, any hours you actually work beyond 40 in a workweek must be compensated at 1.5 times your regular rate of pay. The key question isn’t just “how many hours” but “which hours” actually count toward that 40-hour threshold—and the answer often surprises employees who’ve