Posted by When you are working as a medical insurance case manager, you may not be receiving the appropriate overtime pay. However, the law allows you to make a claim against your employer if you believe that you were misclassified as an “exempt” employee. This is known as a class action lawsuit. There are three major types of lawsuits against employers for failing to pay overtime: Exemption, Misclassification, and Class action lawsuits.
Class action lawsuits
Whether your job includes handling health insurance claims or providing client service, you may be entitled to overtime pay. If your employer fails to pay you the appropriate amount for extra hours, consider filing a class action lawsuit. Federal law requires employers to pay employees for each hour worked over 40 hours. This is also known as “time and a half” pay. Medical insurance companies have been known to underpay workers for hours worked beyond 40.
Misclassification
While most employees are entitled to overtime pay, the common practice of companies is to give workers inflated job titles and salary levels while claiming that they are exempt from overtime pay. This practice is illegal and unethical, and a good attorney can help you recover the unpaid wages you deserve. The attorneys at Morgan & Morgan have experience helping misclassified employees recover their unpaid overtime wages. Listed below are some common misclassification cases.
Wage and hour violations are among the most common workplace violations, and they can be overt or subtle. One recent case involves Carolyn J. O’Leary, a clinical nurse advisor who worked for Humana Insurance Company. Her primary responsibilities included determining coverage for health care providers. Although she was working longer hours than other employees, she was classified as an exempt employee, which meant that she was not entitled to overtime pay or other employee benefits. A group of her fellow employees joined the lawsuit, which was ultimately successful.
Exemption from overtime pay
There are several factors to consider before filing a lawsuit for improper overtime pay for medical insurance case managers. Exemption from the overtime pay rules can be obtained through a few different methods. While administrative employees typically don’t qualify for overtime, professionals and office workers are not. The professional exemption applies to individuals who do work requiring specialized knowledge and skill, such as lawyers and doctors. Additionally, outside sales employees generally are not eligible for overtime pay.
There are two common legal strategies that employers can use to defend their policies against claims that claim these employees aren’t entitled to overtime pay. Firstly, employers are required to maintain accurate records of hours worked by nonexempt employees. This is particularly important if the case involves an employee who is not physically punching a time clock. However, if the employee has a computerized time recording system, then it may be able to challenge the company’s exempt status.
While employers may argue that case managers don’t qualify for overtime pay, there’s a problem with this argument: the FLSA does not apply to non-exempt workers, which is why they are covered by state overtime laws. Maine, however, has a separate statute regarding salary requirements for non-exempt employees. The state has a higher wage than the federal standard. For more information, contact our employment compliance advisors today.