Houston, TX employment law attorney Gregg M. Rosenberg discusses the most common overtime violations. He notes that over time, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cases often present unusual fact patterns that aren’t commonly seen. In his experience, the most frequent violation is misclassification—when an employee is incorrectly classified as a supervisor or as an exempt employee. This misclassification allows employers to avoid paying overtime or time-and-a-half, and he sees it frequently.

In these cases, he sits down with the client, who is often coming in not just for themselves but as a representative of a class of employees. They discuss how the client has been misclassified and examine whether others in similar roles are also misclassified. If it becomes clear that misclassification affects a larger group, he proceeds with pursuing the case.

Another common scenario involves employees misclassified as independent contractors. He emphasizes that a person is either an employee or they are not, and in his experience, roughly 95% of cases involve groups of people being incorrectly treated as independent contractors. He sees this particularly in industries like cable services and, in Texas, in the oil field sector. While these cases can be complex, he notes that careful handling often leads to favorable outcomes for employees in overtime disputes.