Take another look at the photo for this post. Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s Bali. It’s from a villa on a Wednesday morning early last December. The butler had just placed the floating breakfast for two in the couple’s private infinity pool. The weather was perfect—right between 78 and 84 degrees all afternoon.
The attorney who sent me the picture was wrapping up a year of travel. In fact, they visited all seven continents. Every where in the world. In a year. This Bali excursion was “just a little side trip” from a broader tour of Australia and New Zealand. Is this what you’ll be doing in 2019? Enjoying poached eggs at a spa on the other side of the world?
My sarcasm should be obvious, and, yes, I’m intentionally trying to create a bit of resentment here. I’m doing so, though, to drive home a point: If you’re a business owner, an executive, a supervisor, or have any human resources responsibility in your job and are not intently familiar with the Fair Labor Standards Act (the FLSA), you should be. And now.
I say this because the plaintiffs’ attorney who snapped the photo above sure is – they funded their 2018 world tour with the fees earned by suing businesses like yours for FLSA violations. And business owners like you picked up the tab for the whole trip… Oh yeah, and you paid their clients – your (likely former) employees – thousands of dollars, too.
Even if you think you know the laws regarding employee pay, you’ll probably want to take another look. If you’re like most employers, you’ll be surprised at how much of what you think you know about the FLSA simply isn’t true. Take a few minutes to read a quick overview of the FLSA.
I’m speaking from the perspective of a management representation lawyer. The kind you hire when you get a letter or FLSA lawsuit from our island-hopping friend. The majority of our practice focuses on negotiating and settling claims brought against employers under the FLSA. More than a few were brought by our photographer…
Note I said negotiating and settling claims—not defending. In nearly every case we handle, defending against the plaintiff’s FLSA demand is not a viable option. The risk is too high that you’ll have to pay the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees. Usually, the best option is to find a negotiated resolution as quickly as possible. If it sounds like the deck is stacked against you, you’re right. The sooner you get ahead of the problem, the less likely you’ll be buying the plaintiff’s lawyer’s next vacation. Why not let our Atlanta employment attorneys help before your business has an FLSA issue?
Get Ahead of FLSA Claims with an Atlanta Employment Attorney
Still not convinced the FLSA rules needs to be on your radar? Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll be able to defend against a disgruntled employee. Stay tuned over the next few weeks. We’ll be deep-diving on this blog, covering various points of the FLSA, including those misguided “facts” you may be relying on for peace of mind. If you have questions about avoiding FLSA claims, contact the Atlanta employment attorneys at Stanton Law at 404-531-2341.