Employment · Georgia

Can I sue for unpaid overtime in Georgia?

the short answer

Past 40 hours in a workweek you are owed one and a half times your regular rate. The federal rule counts by the week and not by the day, so an eleven-hour Monday is not overtime if the week stops at 40, and two weeks may not be averaged together. Nothing in it requires extra pay for nights, weekends or holidays.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

everywhere in the u.s.

governing statute29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1)source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

penaltyThe unpaid overtime, and an additional equal amount again as liquidated damages. The court must also allow a reasonable attorney's fee and the costs of the action (29 U.S.C. § 216(b)).source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

limit2 yearssource ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

alsoTwo years to sue, or three if the violation was willful (29 U.S.C. § 255(a)). The clock runs paycheck by paycheck, so every week you wait drops a week off the back of the claim.source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

in this state

Where do you report unpaid overtime in Georgia?

free route

Georgia sets no overtime rule of its own, so the overtime is the federal claim above and the free route is the federal Wage and Hour Division. A complaint costs nothing, and by law the Division may not disclose your name, what you complained about, or that a complaint exists.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Which court hears a case like this in Georgia?

which court

Magistrate court

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

How much can you sue for in Georgia small claims court?

small claims limit

$15,000

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

What else should you know in Georgia?

also

Georgia's own minimum wage is $5.15 and reaches only employers of six or more, and the state law excludes any job the federal Fair Labor Standards Act already covers whenever the federal rate is higher — which it is. For almost everyone in Georgia the federal rule is the rule.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

your situation

That is the rule. Whether it is your answer is a different question.

Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in Georgia. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.

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