Florida Is On Overtime For Wage And Hour Claims

Tampa Managing Partner Christine Howard was interviewed by Gulf Coast Business Review for the article "Florida Is On Overtime For Wage And Hour Claims" in the October 26 issue. The article noted that Florida has a reputation for being a heavily litigious state when it comes to wage and hour claims filed under the national Fair Labor Standards Act. Most of the claims arise when employees accuse a business of unfair pay practices or unseen overtime pay. Christine said several elements have led to Florida's high number of wage and hour claims. One is that tourism and hospitality jobs are magnets for these claims, given the industry is both large and filled with many hourly employees. "Certainly Florida has the type of jobs that can be susceptible to misconduct." She advised: "You want to be as proactive as possible about this. There are steps you could take to protect your business." That includes training managers and having written policies in place about employee classification and overtime rules. She added that it's critical to update the training and policies, so managers don't get complacent.