Champions for Workers.

Wage and Hour Practice

We represent workers whose employers fail to pay minimum wage, overtime, tips, commissions, prevailing wages, and other kinds of compensation.

MSR’s attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in unpaid wages on behalf of their clients, both in and out of court.  We represent workers in all kinds of wage and hour claims, including:

• Employees not paid the minimum wage

• Employees not paid overtime.

• Home health attendants who work in the homes of their elderly and/or disabled clients, and who don’t get paid for all hours they work.

• Tipped employees whose employers fail to turn over all tips paid.

• Employees misclassified as “exempt” from overtime laws because the employer claims they are administrators, executives or professionals.

• Employees denied meal and rest breaks.

• Employees who work on public projects without being paid the prevailing wage and benefits.

• Employees retaliated against by their employers for complaining about their pay.

If you believe that your employer’s pay practices do not comply with federal or New York law, contact an attorney at Menken Simpson & Rozger for a free consultation to discuss your wage and hour claim.

Call 646-801-3010 to talk to an attorney immediately

or call us at (212) 509-1616

Prevailing Wage

We are among the nation’s leading law firms in prevailing wage litigation, having recovered tens of millions of dollars in damages for workers around the country.

Many states, including New York and New Jersey, require that employees of private companies who perform work on public projects be paid what are known as “prevailing wages.” These wages are derived from the pay earned by union employees doing similar work in the area, and are often substantially higher than the wages paid on private, non-union jobs.  In addition, prevailing wage laws require employers to pay the cash value of fringe benefits that are also tied to the union rate for fringe benefits; these can be substantial.

Department of Labor’s prevailing wage schedules 

New York City Comptroller’s Office prevailing wage schedules

In New York, prevailing wage laws cover employees doing construction, repair, and maintenance work on publicly owned buildings and facilities, like public schools, highways, hospitals and jails. Public work also includes building services work such as cleaning, gardening, and security work.

Because prevailing wages are so much higher than wages in private, non-union work, unscrupulous employers an incentive to break the law and underpay their employees.  If you are a non-union employee working on a New York State or New York City public building or facility, and are getting the same pay as when you do work for private facilities, then you maybe unlawfully underpaid.

Menken Simpson & Rozger represents a wide variety of employees in prevailing wage lawsuits, such as fire alarm workers, roofers, boilermakers, and masons. If you are working on a public facility, and think you are underpaid for your public work, contact us for a free consultation.  

Home Attendants & Domestic Employees

Home attendants, also known as home health aides, and domestic workers are generally entitled to be paid the minimum wage and overtime for their work. Often, employers treat home attendants and domestic workers as exempt from the wage and hour laws. Employers often fail to pay overtime to such workers, and sometimes go so far as to pay them a “flat fee” for a full 24-hour shift, rather than paying them their hourly wage (plus overtime) for each hour worked.

Whether flat-rates for 24-hour shifts violates federal and state law depends on a number of different factors, including where the work was performed, what type of work was being performed and what kind of facilities (sleeping and otherwise) were provided at the workplace, and how much time the employee has for sleep and meals each day.

Menken Simpson & Rozger attorneys have represented a large number home attendants and home health aides in wage and hour disputes, including individual litigations and numerous large class actions. We are highly familiar with this area of law and can help you determine whether you’ve been properly paid and to help you recover any wages you are owed.

Contact us to schedule a consultation.

Minimum Wage

Most employees have the right to be paid at least minimum wage. At present, the minimum wage is $15 per hour for New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, and $12.50 for the remainder of the state.  

See https://www.ny.gov/new-york-states-minimum-wage/new-york-states-minimum-wage. 

Many employers attempt to get around this requirement by claiming that their employees are exempt from minimum wage protections, or that they do not have to pay employees for all hours they work.

Menken Simpson & Rozger  represents many employees who have been wrongly denied the minimum wage, including:

• Home health attendants particularly those who work overnight shifts and are not paid the minimum wage.

• Tipped employees whose employers have wrongfully credited tips towards the employer’s obligation to pay the minimum wage.

• Residential janitors who are expected to be on call for 24 hours per day but who are only paid for their daytime hours.

• Employees whose employers simply fail to accurately record or pay actual hours worked.

• Employees who have been misclassified as “exempt” from the minimum wage laws.

We have successfully represented numerous employees who have had wages wrongfully withheld by their employers. We can help you determine whether you have been the victim of wage theft, and take action on your behalf to help you recover your lost wages and other damages. 

Misclassification of Exempt Employees

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL) protect workers and ensure that they are paid proper wages. Most workers are entitled to overtime pay, as well as the minimum wage. Some workers, however, are exempt from the protections of the FLSA and the NYLL. However, employers often wrongly claim that workers are exempt (“misclassify” them) to get around their legal obligations to pay minimum wage and overtime.

Examples of employees who are not required to be paid overtime or the minimum wage include:

• Management employees whose work is directly related to the actual management of the business, like managers, directors and other executives who are empowered to make leadership decisions and supervise two or more people;

• Administrators whose work is directly related to the general administration of the business, who perform non-manual office work, and who exercise discretion and judgment in matters of significant importance, like administrators, accountants and human resources personnel;

• Professionals who have specialized academic training that they utilize in their jobs, like lawyers, dentists, architects and doctors;

• Computer specialists, such as network administrators and Internet and database administrators;

• Salespeople who work in the field, outside the main place of business, and are paid commissions;

• People in a recognized creative or artistic field, who have artistic discretion over the product of their work.

Exemptions to the federal and state labor laws are very narrow, meaning that a worker must fit clearly into a specific category in order to be considered exempt. Employers, however, tend to try and get out of their labor law obligations by squeezing people into exemptions where they don’t fit.

For example, many people who perform routine office work are misclassified as exempt “administrative” employees, because we think of “administrative” work as being similar to the work of assistants or paralegals. However, most assistants and paralegals are not exempt, and are thus entitled to overtime pay. Similarly, some employers will try to classify any employee working in a creative industry as an “artist,” even though the employee is essentially painting by numbers and has no discretion over the artistic direction of their work.  Also, just because an employees are paid a weekly salary, doesn’t mean that they are not exempt from receiving overtime pay.  It is the employees’ job duties that matter.  

The determination of whether any given individual is exempt or entitled to overtime protection depends heavily on the specific facts of their situation. The lawyers at Menken Simpson & Rozger have extensive experience with the FLSA and NYLL exemptions, and can help you figure out whether you have been misclassified. If you have been inappropriately classified as an exempt rather than nonexempt employee, we can help you recoup your back pay and overtime wages.

Retaliation

State and federal law prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against employees who complain about wage violations.  Complaints such as not getting minimum wage or overtime pay, prevailing wages, rest or meal breaks Adverse actions can include termination; demotion; threats to report the employee to the immigration authorities; black-listing for future employment and undeserved negative employment references and evaluations.  

Employees who are retaliated against by their employers can get their lost wages compensatory damages, and attorney’s fees.    

Meal & Rest Breaks

New York law requires that employers give workers meal breaks, and to pay employees for rest breaks of 5-20 minutes. Often, employers refuse to give employees the breaks they are entitled to. Sometimes employers deduct pay from workers for meal breaks, even though the workers aren’t actually being allowed to take breaks at all.

Menken Simpson & Rozger attorneys have successfully represented numerous employees whose employers have denied them the breaks to which they are entitled.

Tipped employees, such as waitstaff, hotel staff, bartenders, banquet waiters, buspeople and luggage handlers are particularly susceptible to wage abuses. Common illegal practices include:

• Employers failing to pay tipped employees any wage at all, and requiring tipped employees to live only on tips;

• Failing to pay the tipped employee minimum wage, and not allowing them to keep their earned tips;

• Allowing management employees to take a share of the tips;

• Charging waiters and waitresses for walk-outs who do not pay their bill;

• Failing or refusing to pay overtime when required; and,

• Altering time cards to inaccurately reflect hours worked.

Menken Simpson & Rozger attorneys have successfully represented tipped employees in numerous individual and class action cases. Contact us, we can help you determine whether you have been the victim of tip theft, and take action on your behalf to help you recoup your lost wages.

or call us (212) 509-1616

Recovered Millions in Unpaid Wages

$15 million in class action settlements on behalf of New York fire alarm and sprinkler workers for prevailing wages and fringe benefits.  See Ramos v. SimplexGrinnell LP (E.D.N.Y. July 17, 2012). 

$4.9 Million class action settlement on behalf of California fire alarm and sprinkler workers for failure to pay prevailing wages for work on public projects.  See Bennett v. SimplexGrinnell LP (N.D. Cal. Sept. 3, 2015).

$3.2 million for 98 banquet waiters who were not paid their gratuities in violation of New York Labor Law. 98 Banquet Waiters v. Major NYC Hotel.

$1.5 million on behalf of approximately 100 roofers who were not paid overtime wages.  Theodore B. v. NYC Roofing Company

$1 million on behalf of a class of approximately 60 individual employees who cleaned the interior of commercial office buildings in the NY/NJ area.  Perez v. Consolidated Housekeeping

Read more about these and other notable cases below