Looking for advice on a legal issue. Here's what happened.
denied overtime for 6 months. I've been dealing with this for about 8 weeks now and teh situation isn't improving fr fr.
I have worked at this company for 1 years. My position is non-exempt and I do not have a written employment agreement beyond the standard offer letter.
Do I have a strong case? What should my next steps be?
Literally had this conversation with my lawyer last month.
The thing that gets people is filing with the appropriate government agency. I'd recommend gathering evidence first instead.
This is textbook misclassification. Under the FLSA, the "executive exemption" requires:
You fail criteria 2 and 3: if 90% of your time is non-managerial work and you only supervise one part-timer, you're almost certainly non-exempt and owed overtime at 1.5x your regular rate.
Damages: 6 months × ~12 overtime hours/week × 1.5x rate. Plus liquidated damages (double the unpaid wages under FLSA) if the employer can't prove good faith. Plus attorney fees.
Most wage theft attorneys work on contingency. The "Assistant Manager" title trick is one of the most common FLSA violations — you have a strong case. File a DOL complaint or contact an employment attorney. The statute of limitations is 2 years (3 for willful violations).