Car Rental Companies Investigated for Wage and Hour Violations

Numerous car rental companies are facing wage and hour lawsuits over allegations they are not properly paying employees according to labor laws. In the past several years, millions of dollars have been paid out to settle rental car employee lawsuits, many of which were filed in California.

Violations mentioned in these rental car employee lawsuits include:

• Late meal periods
• Missed meal periods
• No compensation for missed meal periods
• Missed rest breaks
• Off-the-clock work
• Unpaid overtime
• Unpaid vacation time
• Other wage and hour violations

Enterprise reached an $8 million settlement of one rental car employee lawsuit in 2013 after being accused of wrongfully categorizing assistant managers as exempt from overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Under the FLSA, all non-exempt employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular base salary for hours they work beyond 40 in a given workweek. Additionally, employers are required to keep accurate pay records of their employees dating back at least three years. Employers must also prohibit working off the clock.

Overview of Exempt or Non-Exempt Classification

To be classified as a non-exempt employee, an employee must be at management level or above in title and duties. These employees must have influence over assigning duties to others, have influence in hiring or hiring employees, training employees, dealing with complaints, and budget management. In order to specifically exclude a management employee from overtime, they cannot actually assist in the assigned work they give to lower employees.

Managers and assistant managers have been plaintiffs in recent car rental employee wage and hour lawsuits. Potential plaintiffs are encouraged to know and understand their rights about whether they are correctly categorized as a non-exempt employee.

Car rental companies named in these wage and hour lawsuits include:

• Avis
• Alamo
• Budget
• Dollar Rent a Car
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car
• Fox Rent a Car
• Midway Car Rental
• National Car Rental
• Payless Car Rental
• Sixt Rent a Car
• Thrifty Car Rental
• Others

Join a Free Rental Car Company Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you worked for a California rental car company as a nonexempt (hourly) employee within the past four years and suffered a wage and hour violation such as late or missed meal periods, missed breaks, off-the-clock-work, unpaid overtime, or unpaid vacation time, you can participate in a free class action lawsuit investigation. Learn more and obtain a free case evaluation at the Rental Car Employee Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.