Overtime Violations

Recently, the Infosys company met with a lawsuit based on the company’s alleged overtime violations – failing to pay overtime to its workers. The case in question arose because a former worker in Rhode Island claimed that he worked over 1,000 hours of overtime for the company, but was never adequately compensated. The case also serves as an example of how wage and hour lawsuits involving overtime violations are pursued.

The Worker’s Overtime Claim

The worker claims that between May of 2015 to June of 2017, he was required to work 11-hour days but the company committed overtime violations when it refused to compensate him for his overtime hours. These overtime violations, the worker claims, he did not receive any type of compensation for overtime after working 40 hours in a week. In August of 2018, Infosys responded to the overtime violations by arguing that the employees was an hourly employee on an H1-B visa even though Infosys had listed him as a salaried worker with the Department of Labor.

The Fair Labor Standards Act

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, all employees are considered eligible to receive overtime, which means that employers must compensate these workers at least one and one half their regular pay rate for every hour that the employees work over 40 hours in the course of the week. There are, however, several exemptions regarding groups of workers that are not automatically entitled to overtime pay. In the case of Infosys, the administrative exemption applies, which includes workers who are compensated on a salary or fee basis of not less than $455 a week, whose primary duty is performing office or non-manual work, and whose duties include the exercise of independent judgment. To determine if a person is overtime exempt, courts of law analyze the actual duties that workers perform rather than rely on job descriptions. If the worker in the Infosys case is really an hourly employee, he will be entitled to receive overtime compensation.

The Future of the Case

It remains uncertain exactly how this case will resolve. On one hand, if Infosys did commit overtime violations, it would forced to compensate workers. If Infosys was misrepresenting the immigration status of workers, the company will likely lose some of its H1-B visas and face additional repercussions from the federal government.

The Role of IT Workers in the United States

Many workers at IT companies are salaried, which means that they are exempt from being paid overtime rates. Over the last few years, several labor unions have pushed for these workers to become hourly, but there have few developments in this area. There is a potential now, however, that this case will significantly influence how IT workers in the United States are classified.

Speak with an Experienced Overtime Attorney

If you are owed overtime or any other type of compensation from an employer and do not receive it, you should not hesitate to speak with an experienced wage and hour lawyer who will remain dedicated to fighting for you. Contact an overtime attorney at Herrmann Law today to schedule an initial consultation 817-479-9229 or fill out our online questionnaire, and someone from our office will contact you.