Unpaid Overtime Lawyer in Kent

Working overtime is often part of the job. Working overtime without being properly paid for it is not. If you regularly work more than 40 hours in a workweek and your employer does not pay you the overtime you are owed, you may have a wage-and-hour claim. At the James Hawkins Firm, we have represented employees exclusively for more than 25 years and have recovered substantial amounts for clients in employment and wage disputes. We understand how employers structure pay systems, how unpaid work can become routine, and how seemingly small amounts of unpaid time can add up to significant losses over weeks, months, or years.

You should not have to choose between getting paid fairly and keeping your job. If you believe your employer has failed to pay you overtime, we can help you understand what happened, what you may be owed, and what options you have. Contact the James Hawkins Firm today for a free, confidential consultation.

What Is Unpaid Overtime?

In Washington, most nonexempt employees must be paid overtime for hours worked over 40 in a seven-day workweek. The overtime rate must generally be at least 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay. Washington law applies this requirement regardless of whether an employee is paid hourly, by piece rate, by commission, by salary, or through another compensation arrangement.

For example, if a nonexempt employee earns $25 per hour and works 46 hours in a workweek, the employee generally should receive their regular pay for the first 40 hours and overtime pay at a rate of at least $37.50 for the additional six hours.

But unpaid overtime is not always as obvious as an employer simply refusing to put overtime hours on a paycheck. In many cases, the problem is hidden in how an employer tracks time, classifies employees, calculates compensation, or expects employees to work before or after their scheduled shifts.

What Counts as “Hours Worked”?

One of the most important questions in an unpaid overtime case is whether the employer is counting all of the time you actually worked. Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries recognizes that compensable time can include required training and meetings, certain travel time, waiting time, and time spent putting on or taking off required uniforms or protective equipment. Employers also cannot simply tell employees to work “off the clock” and avoid paying them for that time. Even if the employer did not authorize the additional work, employees generally must still be paid for hours they actually worked. However, the employer may separately discipline them for violating a workplace rule.  That means overtime can be hidden in the minutes and hours that happen outside your scheduled shift. For example, you may have a potential issue if you are expected to:

• Arrive early to open the workplace, prepare equipment, or receive assignments.
• Stay after your shift to finish paperwork, clean, close out a register, or complete required tasks.
• Attend mandatory meetings or training without recording the time.
• Check emails, messages, schedules, or work systems from home.
• Perform required equipment inspections before beginning your route.
• Load or unload vehicles before or after clocking in.
• Complete required reports or paperwork after your scheduled shift.
• Wait for a vehicle, assignment, customer, equipment, or dispatch instructions while still under the employer’s control.
• Work through an unpaid meal period because you are expected to remain available or continue working.
• Correct time records when the hours you actually worked exceed what appears on the timekeeping system.

When these activities happen regularly, a few minutes here and there can add up to substantial unpaid time and may push an employee over the 40-hour overtime threshold.

Common Signs Your Employer May Be Underpaying Overtime

Unpaid overtime does not always look like an employer saying, “We aren’t going to pay you.” More often, it appears through a workplace policy or compensation system that quietly prevents employees from receiving everything they have earned. Some warning signs include:

• You regularly work more than 40 hours but never receive overtime.
• Your employer automatically deducts time that you actually spent working.
• You are told to clock out but continue working.
• You are expected to arrive early or stay late without recording the additional time.
• Your employer changes or edits your time records.
• You are disciplined for reporting overtime or told that overtime must be approved before you can be paid.
• You are paid a salary and told that means you cannot receive overtime, even though your actual duties may not satisfy an overtime exemption.
• You are paid by the mile, delivery, route, job, or piece and are told that overtime does not apply.
• You are expected to perform administrative work after hours, such as completing paperwork, responding to messages, or preparing for the next workday.
• Your employer’s timekeeping system does not capture all of your work.
• Your paycheck may look correct at first glance, but your total hours and rate may not produce the overtime you should have received.

The details matter. An employee’s job title or payment method does not automatically determine whether the employee is exempt from overtime. Washington explains that some salaried employees are still entitled to overtime, and exemption generally depends on salary and job-duty requirements.

“I’m Salaried. Doesn’t That Mean I’m Exempt?”

Not necessarily. One of the most common misconceptions we encounter is that anyone paid a salary is automatically exempt from overtime. That is not how the law works. Washington’s overtime exemptions generally require employees to meet specific requirements related to salary basis, salary level, and job duties. The actual work you perform can matter more than your job title. Washington’s current rules also include a state salary threshold for certain exempt workers: $1,541.70 per week ($80,168.40 annually) in 2026.

An employer cannot simply call someone a “manager,” “supervisor,” “administrator,” or “professional” and assume that eliminates overtime obligations. If the classification does not satisfy the legal requirements, the employee may still be entitled to overtime. Likewise, being paid a salary does not by itself determine exemption status. Washington specifically recognizes that employees can be salaried and still be nonexempt.

“My Employer Said Overtime Has to Be Approved”

This is an important distinction. An employer may have a policy requiring employees to obtain approval before working overtime. But a policy requiring approval does not necessarily mean the employer can refuse to pay for hours the employee actually worked. Washington L&I states that employees who work unauthorized overtime must still be paid for the hours worked, although they may potentially be disciplined for violating the employer’s policy.  If your employer tells you to clock out, work anyway, and then refuses to pay you because you weren’t authorized, that can raise serious wage-and-hour concerns.

Industries Where We Commonly See Unpaid Overtime in Kent

Unpaid overtime can happen in almost any industry, but certain workplaces and compensation structures create more opportunities for employees to work beyond their recorded hours. In Kent and throughout South King County, we often see these issues in industries where employees work long shifts, follow strict production or delivery schedules, or are expected to work before or after their scheduled shifts.

Transportation and Trucking Workers

Transportation is an important part of the Kent Valley economy, and overtime issues can arise in trucking, freight, delivery, logistics, and related operations. Drivers and other transportation workers may be paid by the mile, by the route, by the delivery, or through a combination of hourly pay and incentives. These compensation systems can make it harder to see whether overtime has been properly calculated. Problems can arise when workers are expected to perform unpaid tasks such as:

• Completing pre-trip or post-trip inspections.
• Loading or unloading vehicles.
• Waiting for dispatch or assignments.
• Completing delivery paperwork.
• Fueling or cleaning vehicles.
• Attending required meetings or safety briefings.
• Communicating with dispatch before or after the scheduled shift.
• Returning equipment or vehicles after completing a route.
• Performing work before clocking in or after clocking out.

Washington specifically recognizes that certain truck and bus drivers may be covered by alternative overtime compensation arrangements when the employer has a “reasonably equivalent” overtime compensation plan. That means transportation overtime cases can involve additional rules and require careful review of how the employer’s pay system actually works.

If you drive a truck, delivery vehicle, shuttle, bus, or other commercial vehicle and routinely work long days without receiving what you believe is proper overtime, it is worth having the compensation arrangement reviewed rather than assuming that being paid by the mile or route means you have no overtime rights.

Warehousing, Distribution, and Logistics

Kent and the surrounding Kent Valley are major centers for warehousing, distribution, and freight activity. The local economy includes substantial employment in motor freight transportation and warehousing. These workplaces can involve strict productivity expectations, rotating shifts, mandatory overtime, and work that begins before or continues after the employee’s scheduled shift.

We commonly look for issues such as unpaid time spent going through required security procedures, preparing equipment, attending mandatory meetings, walking to a workstation, completing paperwork, or performing other required tasks before or after clocking in.

When hundreds of employees are subject to the same timekeeping or compensation policy, what seems like an individual payroll problem can affect an entire group of workers.

Fabricación

Manufacturing is another major part of the Kent economy, with significant employment in transportation equipment, fabricated metals, machinery, plastics, and other manufacturing industries.  Manufacturing overtime cases can involve employees who are expected to arrive early for safety meetings, change into required equipment, prepare production lines, complete shutdown procedures, clean work areas, or finish production-related tasks after their recorded shift ends. We also examine situations where employees are discouraged from recording overtime because management wants to keep labor costs within a predetermined budget.

Cuidado de la salud

Healthcare workers frequently work long or irregular shifts, and overtime issues can arise when employees stay late to finish patient care, complete documentation, attend required meetings, or cover staffing shortages. An employer being short-staffed does not automatically eliminate its obligation to pay eligible employees for time they actually work. Washington generally requires overtime for eligible employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, although certain healthcare workers are subject to special rules concerning mandatory overtime. If you routinely stay after your scheduled shift because you cannot simply leave your patients or responsibilities unfinished, the time you spend working may need to be included when calculating your pay.

Retail, Hospitality, and Service Work

Overtime problems can also arise in retail, restaurants, hospitality, and other service industries. Employees may be asked to arrive early to open, stay late to close, finish cleaning, complete inventory, attend meetings, or perform administrative tasks after clocking out. Employers may also use commissions, bonuses, piece rates, or other incentive-based compensation. Those systems do not necessarily eliminate overtime obligations. Washington’s overtime rules apply to many employees regardless of how they are paid, and the regular rate used to calculate overtime can require a more detailed calculation when an employee receives additional compensation.

How We Help Employees With Unpaid Overtime Claims

At the James Hawkins Firm, we do more than look at a paycheck and calculate a few missing hours. We investigate how the employer’s compensation and timekeeping systems actually work. Depending on the circumstances, that can involve:

• Reviewing your pay records. We examine pay stubs, timecards, schedules, compensation statements, and other records to identify discrepancies.
• Reconstructing the hours you actually worked. If the employer’s records are incomplete or inaccurate, we can work with you to reconstruct the hours you actually worked using schedules, messages, emails, route records, calendars, personal notes, and other evidence.
• Analyzing your classification. If your employer says you are exempt from overtime, we examine whether that classification actually fits your compensation and job duties.
• Examining the pay system. Piece rates, commissions, bonuses, mileage payments, salaries, and other compensation arrangements can affect how overtime should be calculated. We look beyond the label to determine whether the compensation system complies with applicable law.
• Looking for company-wide practices. When multiple employees are affected by the same policy, timekeeping system, or compensation structure, the issue may extend beyond one person’s paycheck.
• Pursuing the compensation you are owed. When the evidence supports a claim, we pursue recovery through negotiation, litigation, or other appropriate legal avenues.

Why We Care About Unpaid Overtime

For many employees, unpaid overtime is not just a few dollars missing from a paycheck. It can represent hours of your life that you gave to your employer without receiving the compensation you were promised and legally owed. And when an employer systematically underpays its workforce, the impact can multiply. A company that saves a few minutes of labor costs per employee, per shift, can potentially save substantial amounts over an entire workforce. That’s why we take these cases seriously.

For more than 25 years, the James Hawkins Firm has represented employees, not employers. We understand the imbalance that can exist when an individual worker tries to challenge a company with an HR department, payroll system, management team, and its own lawyers. Our job is to level that playing field. We have recovered substantial claims for our clients, and we approach every case with the same goal: understand what happened, determine what the law requires, and pursue the recovery our client deserves.

What Should You Do If You Think You Are Owed Overtime?

You do not need to have your entire case figured out before talking with an attorney. If you suspect you have been underpaid, start preserving the information you already have. Keep copies of pay stubs, schedules, time records, employment agreements, relevant emails or messages, and anything else that helps show when and how you worked. Do not alter or fabricate records, and do not put yourself in danger to obtain information you are not entitled to access. Most importantly, do not assume that because your employer’s payroll system says you were paid correctly, the matter is settled. The system may not reflect all the time you actually worked. Our team can review the circumstances and help determine whether you have a viable claim.

Talk to a Kent Lawyer About Unpaid Overtime

If you work long hours but your paycheck doesn’t reflect all the time you put in, you deserve answers. Contact the James Hawkins Firm for a free, confidential consultation. We will listen to what happened, explain your potential rights and options, and give you an honest assessment of your situation. If you worked the hours, you deserve to be paid for them.