Law Firm Employee Sues for Overtime Rate of Pay

A file clerk working for Powell Trachtman PC has filed a class action overtime rate of pay lawsuit, alleging that the firm does not pay overtime to assistants, paralegals and file clerks.

The overtime rate of pay class action lawsuit was lodged not only on behalf of the plaintiff but also for other support staff in a similar situation who may have been negatively affected by the overtime rate of pay situations.

The plaintiff who initiated the overtime rate of pay lawsuit against the law firm worked there for 17 years and claimed that she and other support staff were never paid for their overtime work. This overtime work was completed beyond 40 hours in a work week over the previous three years. She alleges that this is a violation of Pennsylvania state law and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The complaint says that the attorneys working at the firm knew they were responsible for paying support staff for overtime work completed beyond 40 hours in a given work week but made a consistent habit of failing to pay overtime to anyone.

The company facing the overtime rate of pay lawsuit has already begun winding down their operations after an early May announcement that the firm would be closing.

The managing partner and other representatives were named in the overtime rate of pay lawsuit as responsible, based on the support staff member’s claim that she worked more than 40 hours per week. She claims that she regularly worked 45 or more hours in a given work week but was never given the time-and-a-half pay that she should have been. She alleges that her time sheets were approved by the firm, making it clear that they knew she was working more than 40 hours in a week.

The lawsuit alleges that the staff member in question was not paid overtime for a minimum of three years, although the complaint indicates that this practice may have been going on for much longer at that point in time. An estimate shows that the firm had around 20 employees in a similar support staff role as of early 2018.

Overtime pay is one of the leading causes behind lawsuits against employers. Misclassification of employees or failure to pay overtime when the employee was indeed carrying out work-related tasks at the request of the employer could allow that employee to file a lawsuit in the future regarding compensation that he or she would have been owed.

For non-exempt employees, working beyond 40 hours in a given workweek means that an employee is eligible for overtime. There are exceptions surrounding certain types of employment, which is why many workers in this situation will schedule a consultation with a lawyer.

Anyone who has been negatively affected by an employment position in which they should have been paid overtime but were not given the appropriate time-and-a-half rates may be eligible to pursue a wage and hour lawsuit.

The Overtime Rate of Pay Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-CV-02151 filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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