You have every incentive to strengthen your own case, especially when considering that you have the burden to prove that you worked overtime by establishing (a) the dates when you worked overtime and (b) the amount of overtime (times) you actually worked.
To gather the specific information necessary to prove an unpaid overtime claim, the FairLaw Firm can pursue your case based on the following:
(i) on the records kept by your employer – this means that after your employer did not compensate you for the overtime pay you earned and to which you are legally entitled without even asking, you are trusting that same employer to have kept accurate records to help you to prove your case. This is not the best case scenario.
(ii) on circumstantial information – instead of simply relying on the records kept by your employer, overtime claims can be pursued by resorting to analyzing emails for the times sent/received (and time spent composing them), phone logs (for time calls were made and the duration of each), parking lot logs (which record when you entered and left your work parking lot), computer logins (which identify when you logged on and off your work computer), and other mechanisms. This is more difficult and time consuming, and is not the ideal situation.
(iii) on the records you kept – you can and should keep records which set out the dates you worked, the hours you worked each day, and include any additional assignments which you performed while on a lunch break or outside of normal working ours. Since you made and kept the records, you can decide how much or how little detail to include. Don’t be afraid to keep this type of log. Just start writing it.
Another useful tool is logging your time using the iPhone application which was developed by the Department of Labor and is available as a download through the iTunes store.
The more ways you have to prove your claim for unpaid overtime pay, the more likely it is that you will not leave out time that you worked – and that time can translate into time and a half. So, bring your journal, employment records, and any circumstantial information with you to your free initial consultation at the FairLaw Firm in Miami.
