FLSA Retaliation / Whistleblower

The Atlanta overtime attorneys at Martin & Martin fiercely fight in the best interests of their clients who are retaliated against for complaining about unpaid wages and overtime. With over 30 years of combined experience representing workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), overtime attorneys Kimberly Martin and Tom Martin, unapologetically aggressively litigate cases in which workers have been retaliated against on the basis of complaining about a company’s pay practices.

No. The FLSA has an anti-retaliation provision that provides that if a worker complains about improper pay under the FLSA, a company may not retaliate against the worker for complaining. The type of complaint covered under the FLSA includes oral or written complaints to the worker’s supervisor, HR, employer, etc. It also covers complaints made to the Department of Labor (DOL) as well as FLSA complaints filed in federal court.

Retaliation is any action that would dissuade another worker from complaining. So, if the action taken by the company would cause another worker to reasonably fear complaining, the action is retaliatory. Examples of retaliatory actions include changing schedules/hours, reducing hours, reducing pay, demotion, termination, etc.

If you already have an FLSA federal lawsuit filed, your attorney can amend the complaint to add a retaliation claim to the complaint. If you have not yet filed a federal FLSA lawsuit, you are entitled to file one claiming retaliation in violation of the FLSA.

An employee is entitled to lost wages, liquidated damages, and attorney’s fees and costs of litigation. For example, if a company retaliates against an employee for filing an FLSA overtime lawsuit by reducing the employee’s hours from 40 hours per week to 30 hours per week, the employee would be entitled to the lost wages for those ten hours per week for the number of weeks that the company reduced their hours. The worker would also be entitled to liquidated damages also known as “double damages.” So, if the unpaid wages for the reduction in hours in the example totaled $3,000, the employee would be entitled to an additional $3,000 in liquidated damages. Plus, the employee would also be entitled to attorney’s fees and litigation costs.

The Atlanta overtime attorneys at Martin & Martin represent employees who have complained about unpaid wages under the FLSA who have then been subject to retaliation by their employer. If you complained about unpaid wages or overtime and your employer retaliated against you, overtime attorneys in Atlanta, Kimberly Martin and Tom Martin, would be honored to speak with you about your rights. You can contact them through the Contact Us page or by phone at (404) 831-8721. Kimberly and Tom are typically available to respond to questions on the same day. For more information about the FLSA, see the firm’s Overtime Blog and FLSA Frequently Asked Questions.