On February 28, 2019, a jury verdict of 2.9 million dollars was entered against Stake ‘N Shake, for not paying overtime to their managers.
That amount is likely to be doubled by the Court within the two months, or so, because under the FLSA the amount the jury awards is often doubled as a legally mandated penalty against the employer. The issue is that the employees suing Stake ‘N Shake were managers, and they were still entitled to overtime. In a famous case Family Dollar was hit with a judgement against them of over ten million dollars when their managers sued them, and they appealed and the appellate court determined their managers were entitled to overtime.
However, one of the most common things that people claim to have knowledge of about the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and its overtime requirements, is that managers are not entitled to overtime pay. It is patently false that giving someone the title of manager means you do not have to pay them overtime. To not pay overtime, to someone you call a manager, they must fit a very specific set of legal guidelines that are interpreted through hundreds, if not thousands, of Court decisions. Failing to pay someone overtime, who meets the complex regulations interpreted through court decisions, means you can be sued for overtime in a very expensive Federal or State Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Lawsuit. Often time payroll companies, and non FLSA Lawyers, get wrong which managers get overtime, and which do not. For help in knowing if your managers should be paid overtime, or if one of your managers is suing you for overtime, call Joshua Sheskin at the Ft. Lauderdale Florida Headquarters of Lubell Rosen LLC.- By: Joshua H. Sheskin, Esq., 954-880-9500 [email protected]
