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Washington law generally requires overtime-eligible employees to receive one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Employers in Bellevue cannot simply decide not to pay overtime because they did not approve it in advance or because an employee was told not to work extra hours. Yet unpaid overtime remains one of the most common wage and hour violations we see in Bellevue workplaces. It can happen when an employer tells employees to clock out but keep working, automatically deducts meal breaks employees never took, misclassifies employees as exempt, or requires employees to complete work before or after their scheduled shifts without recording those hours. Sometimes, the violation is not as obvious. You may receive a paycheck that appears correct but still be missing overtime because your employer calculated your overtime rate incorrectly or failed to include certain compensation when determining your regular rate.
If you work in Bellevue and believe you are not being paid the overtime you have earned, you do not have to figure out the problem on your own. Our unpaid overtime lawyers at the James Hawkins Firm represent employees in Bellevue and investigate whether an employer’s pay practices comply with Washington law.
Unpaid overtime occurs when an employee who is legally entitled to overtime compensation works more than 40 hours in a workweek but does not receive the overtime pay required by law. Under Washington’s Minimum Wage Act, overtime-eligible employees generally must receive at least 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a seven-day workweek. Employees also cannot simply waive their right to overtime through an agreement with their employer.
For example, if you normally earn $25 per hour and work 45 hours in a workweek, you would generally be entitled to your regular pay for the first 40 hours and overtime pay at a rate of at least $37.50 per hour for the additional five hours, assuming you are overtime-eligible.
But determining whether you were paid properly isn’t always that simple. Your overtime calculation may depend on more than your regular hourly wage. Washington’s rules can require certain forms of compensation, including commissions, piece-rate pay, flat-rate pay, and certain nondiscretionary bonuses, to be considered when determining your regular rate. That is why looking at your paycheck alone may not be enough to determine whether your employer properly paid you.
Overtime violations can happen in many different ways. Sometimes they stem from an intentional company policy. Other times, they result from payroll systems, timekeeping practices, employee classification, or misunderstandings of Washington law.
One of the most common overtime problems occurs when employees are expected to work without recording the time. Maybe your employer expects you to arrive early to prepare for your shift. You could regularly stay late to finish your work. You may answer emails or messages from home after you have clocked out. You may even be told that you should not record the time because you were not “authorized” to work overtime. But if you are actually performing work, those hours may still need to be counted. Washington requires employers to pay employees for hours worked, including certain meetings, training, and other work-related activities.
Even a small amount of unpaid time can add up quickly when it happens every day. Fifteen or 20 minutes of unpaid work at the beginning or end of every shift can add up to hours of unpaid time each week, and potentially overtime.
Another common problem involves automatic meal deductions. Your employer may automatically remove 30 minutes from your timecard every day for lunch. But what happens if you regularly work through that lunch? You could answer customer questions, respond to emails, remain responsible for your patients, or continue performing your normal job duties. If you are working during what should be an unpaid meal period, that time may need to be counted as hours worked. If those additional hours push you over 40 hours in a workweek, they may also result in unpaid overtime. This is one reason our attorneys look beyond the final number on your paycheck. We investigate how your employer’s timekeeping system works and compare the recorded hours with what employees were actually expected to do.
Your schedule might say that you work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but your actual workday may be longer. Perhaps you are expected to arrive early to prepare equipment, open the office, review assignments, or attend a required meeting. You may have to stay after your shift to complete paperwork or close the business. These minutes may seem insignificant individually, but they can add up quickly. If your employer knows or reasonably should know that employees are working outside their recorded hours, simply telling employees they are not permitted to work overtime does not necessarily eliminate the employer’s obligation to pay for that time.
Being called a “manager,” “administrator,” “professional,” or another exempt-sounding title does not automatically mean you are not entitled to overtime. Washington’s overtime exemptions have specific requirements involving an employee’s compensation and job duties. What you actually do at work can be just as important as your job title. This matters especially in a diverse employment market like Bellevue, where employees work across technology, professional services, healthcare, hospitality, retail, transportation, and other industries. An employer cannot avoid overtime obligations simply by changing an employee’s title or calling someone “salaried.” If your employer says you are exempt from overtime, our attorneys can look at your actual responsibilities, how you are paid, and the requirements for the exemption your employer is relying on.
This is one of the most common things employers tell employees. An employer can generally set workplace rules about when employees may work overtime. But that does not necessarily mean the employer can refuse to pay you for overtime you actually worked. For example, your employer may tell you that you must receive approval before working more than 40 hours. You then work 45 hours because you cannot complete your assigned responsibilities within your scheduled shift. Your employer may be able to discipline you for violating its overtime policy. But that does not automatically mean it can simply erase the five hours you actually worked. You generally cannot be required to work for free simply because your employer did not authorize the work. If this happens regularly, it may be important to investigate whether the practice affects other employees as well.
Many employees assume that being paid a salary means they are not entitled to overtime. That is not necessarily true. Some salaried employees are exempt from overtime, but others are not. Whether an exemption applies can depend on your salary, how you are paid, and the actual duties you perform. That means the key question isn’t simply whether you receive a salary. Our attorneys look at the entire employment relationship to determine whether your employer properly classified you. If you regularly work 45, 50, or 60 hours per week but receive the same salary regardless of how many hours you work, it may be worth having our team review your classification.
An unpaid overtime case can require a detailed investigation. At the James Hawkins Firm, we do not simply ask how many hours you believe you worked and compare that number to your paycheck.
We may begin by reviewing your pay statements, timecards, schedules, employment documents, and company policies. We can then compare the hours your employer recorded with the hours you actually worked. For example, if your timecard shows you always clocked out at 5:00 p.m., but emails show you regularly worked until 6:00 p.m., that information may help show that your recorded hours did not accurately reflect your actual work. We may also look at whether your employer’s timekeeping system automatically rounded or deducted time, whether employees were instructed to clock out before finishing their work, and whether supervisors knew employees were working additional hours.
We also examine your compensation structure. If you receive commissions, bonuses, multiple pay rates, piece-rate compensation, or other forms of compensation in addition to your hourly wage, we determine whether those payments should have been included in calculating your overtime rate. An employer may be paying overtime while still paying the wrong amount of overtime. Our team can analyze the applicable compensation rules and determine whether your employer’s calculations appear to comply with Washington law.
If you were classified as exempt, we examine what you actually do, not just what your employer calls your position. We may review your job description, responsibilities, level of authority, salary structure, and day-to-day work to determine whether the exemption your employer relies on applies. This can be especially important when an employer has classified an entire group of employees as exempt.
The most important part of our investigation is determining whether your experience is part of a broader practice. We ask questions such as:
If the answer is yes, your situation may not be an isolated dispute.
Yes. In some circumstances, unpaid overtime claims can affect a large group of employees and may be appropriate for a class action. Consider a company with hundreds of employees who are all expected to clock out at the end of their scheduled shifts but continue working until their assignments are complete. One employee may have only a few hours of unpaid overtime. But if the same practice affected hundreds of employees, the amount of unpaid wages could become substantial. The same issue can arise when an employer uses a common policy to deduct meal periods automatically, requires employees to work before or after their shifts, misclassifies an entire group of employees as exempt, or uses the same compensation system without properly calculating overtime. When a common policy or practice affects multiple employees, our attorneys investigate whether the circumstances may support a class action or another form of collective litigation.
If you believe you have been denied overtime, start keeping records of what is happening. Save your pay statements, timecards, schedules, employment documents, and communications about your work hours. If you regularly work before or after your scheduled shift, keep your own record of when you actually started and stopped working. It can also be helpful to document instructions from supervisors about clocking in and out, working overtime, or taking meal breaks.
You do not need to confront your employer or determine exactly which Washington law was violated before speaking with an attorney. If you are concerned that raising the issue could affect your job, an attorney at the James Hawkins Firm can also help you understand what protections may apply and what options you have.
Our firm has focused on employment law for more than two decades. When you contact us about unpaid overtime, we take the time to understand your job and how your employer’s workplace practices actually operate. We then investigate the available evidence to determine whether you may have been denied wages. That investigation may involve reviewing payroll and timekeeping records, analyzing your compensation structure, examining your job classification, reviewing company policies, and identifying evidence of off-the-clock work. If we believe other employees may have experienced the same violations, we can investigate the broader workplace practices and determine whether a class action may be appropriate.
Our goal isn’t simply to confirm that you were underpaid. We want to understand why you were underpaid, how long it happened, whether other employees were affected, and what legal options may be available to you.
Working overtime may be part of your job, but working those hours without receiving the compensation you are legally owed should not be. Whether you are paid hourly, salary, commission, piece rate, or through another compensation structure, overtime rules can be complicated. Your job title, payroll system, or employer’s overtime policy does not necessarily tell the whole story.
If you believe your employer has failed to pay you the overtime you earned, you do not have to figure it out alone. Our unpaid overtime lawyers in Bellevue can investigate what happened, review your pay and working hours, explain your rights, and help you understand your legal options.
We also understand that cost can be a concern when deciding whether to speak with an attorney. We handle qualifying employment cases on a contingency-fee basis, which means you do not have to pay attorney’s fees upfront or out of pocket. Instead, our fee is generally based on the recovery we obtain for you. We will explain the specific terms of your representation before you decide whether to move forward.
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