Seattle Wage Claim Attorneys

Employment law is a vital legal area for employers and employees alike. A number of Washington state and federal employment laws govern employee compensation issues such as work hours, minimum pay requirements and overtime wages. These laws include the Washington Minimum Wage Act, the Washington Wage Payment Act, the Washington Wage Rebate Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well as numerous other laws and employment agency rules and regulations.

Overtime wage claims, in particular, often become the source of litigation in Washington courts after an employment relationship ends. When faced with an overtime claim, some important questions both employers and employees need to ask include:

• How should overtime be calculated?
• Does overtime apply to everyone on the business' payroll?
• What are my rights, and how can I enforce them?

Washington statute RCW 49.46.130 provides that "no employer shall employ any of his or her employees for a work week longer than forty hours." But the statute continues to expressly provide a number of situations in which overtime pay might not apply. Certain industries such as home workers, laborers, farmers, sailors, fire fighters, and news vendors can be entirely exempt from receiving overtime, as can commission-based retail and wholesale sales persons and independent contractors.

In addition to those industry exemptions, three additional common categories of employees can be exempt from overtime wage payment requirements: executives, administrators, and professionals.

Determining if an executive employee exemption, administrative employee exemption, or professional employee exemption might apply in your wage claim case is no simple task. Each category entails a number of legal factors that a court will weigh and evaluate. Issues such as the employee's primary job duties, education level, supervision, experience, hiring and firing authority, exercise of discretion, management, amount and method of compensation, and other factors may all affect an employee's overtime wage claim.

The Seattle wage claim attorneys at Slinde Nelson have represented clients in a range of labor, employment, and employee benefits matters, including overtime wage claims. If you're facing a wage claim lawsuit, you need an experienced attorney. Contact us or call 1.866.601.9440; we can help.