Working extra hours without proper compensation is an unfortunate reality for many hourly and tipped employees across Florida. If you’ve been clocking in early, staying late, or working through breaks without seeing that time reflected in your paycheck, you may be experiencing unpaid overtime. These violations are common, but they are not legal.
Federal law requires most non-exempt employees to receive overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. When employers fail to follow these rules, Florida workers have the right to pursue the wages they earned and additional compensation under the law.
Understanding how overtime laws work and what steps to take can make a significant difference in recovering what you are owed.
Overtime Laws That Apply to Florida Workers
Florida does not have a separate state overtime statute. Instead, overtime pay is governed by federal law, specifically the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which applies to employers and employees throughout the state.
Under the FLSA, non-exempt employees must be paid one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. Overtime is calculated on a weekly basis and cannot be averaged across multiple weeks to avoid payment.
Tipped employees are also entitled to overtime. While employers may pay a lower base wage using a tip credit, overtime must still be calculated using the employee’s full regular rate, not the reduced tipped wage. Improper overtime calculations are especially common in Florida’s restaurant, hospitality, and service industries.
Are You Entitled to Overtime Pay?
Most hourly and tipped employees are non-exempt and entitled to overtime compensation. Being paid a salary or given a managerial title does not automatically eliminate your right to overtime.
To classify an employee as exempt, an employer must meet strict legal requirements related to pay structure and job duties. Misclassification is one of the most frequent overtime violations and affects workers in industries such as hospitality, retail, construction, healthcare, and transportation.
If your job primarily involves routine or manual work, or if you spend most of your time performing the same tasks as hourly employees, you may still qualify for overtime pay regardless of your title.
Common Unpaid Overtime Violations
- Employers may violate overtime laws in many ways, including:
- Requiring employees to work off the clock
- Automatically deducting meal breaks that were not taken
- Paying straight time instead of time-and-a-half
- Misclassifying employees as independent contractors
- Splitting hours between related businesses
- Excluding bonuses or commissions from overtime calculations
- Tipped workers may also face additional violations that affect overtime pay, such as improper tip pooling or failure to follow tip credit requirements.
Documenting Unpaid Overtime
Keeping accurate records is one of the most important steps you can take. Even if your employer’s timekeeping system is inaccurate, your own records can be used to establish the hours you worked.
Helpful documentation includes personal time logs, pay stubs, work schedules, written communications about work hours, and the names of coworkers who observed unpaid work. Consistent, contemporaneous records are often critical in unpaid overtime cases.
Attorney Fees and Costs - No Upfront Payment Required
Our firm represents unpaid overtime clients on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not pay anything out of pocket to pursue your claim. You owe no attorney fees unless we successfully recover money for you.
Under federal law, employers who violate overtime laws are required to pay the employee’s reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs. When we recover compensation on your behalf, we seek to recover those fees and costs directly from the employer — not from you.
This structure allows employees to pursue unpaid overtime claims without financial risk and ensures that employers, not workers, bear the cost of wage violations.
Speak With Our Florida Unpaid Overtime Lawyer
If you believe you were denied overtime pay in Florida, you do not have to handle the situation alone. Our firm focuses on representing workers in unpaid overtime and wage violation cases, and we handle the legal process from start to finish.
We evaluate your classification, calculate the full amount you may be owed, and pursue compensation aggressively all with no upfront cost to you.
If you worked overtime and were not paid properly, contact our firm to discuss your options. The wages you earned belong to you, and taking action now can help you recover them.