Copier Technicians Often Misclassified, Denied Overtime and Minimum Wage

It is not uncommon for employers to misclassify employees order to save money by not having to pay overtime.

By deeming an employee "exempt" under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the employer may try to get out of having to pay that employee one and a half times his or her normal hourly rate for the hours worked over 40. The copier industry is no exception to this phenomenon - there are still employers out there who try and misclassify copier technicians as exempt under the Learned Professional exemption, solely because the word "technician" appears in the employee's job title.

In reality, many copier technicians are not actual learned professionals, since their job duties do not meet the following criteria:

• They are not salaried workers making at least $455 per week
• Their primary job duties do not require advanced knowledge in order to complete their daily tasks. The copier technicians do not often need to use discretion and judgment, or perform work that is primarily intellectual in nature.
• The knowledge that the copier technicians do have was not acquired in a field of science or learning
• Nor was the knowledge gained by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction-for example, through a college or university degree

Unless all of the above criteria are met, a learned professional exemption may not be claimed by the employer, making the copier tech entitled to overtime pay and minimum wage.

In addition, copier technicians are also entitled to be paid for travel time to and from job sites, even if it means earning overtime pay.

The Fair Labor Standards Act also dictates that technicians are entitled to be paid for the following activities:

• Traveling between jobs
• Training
• All time worked before and after clocking in
• Attendance at company meetings
• Stocking and preparing the company vehicle
• Cleaning the company vehicle
• Gathering supplies
• Ordering materials
• Completing paperwork outside of the office or location of work
• Waiting for clients

The FLSA also allows a copier technician to be paid for the time he or she works over their lunch hour.

That is why it is imperative for those technicians who are not receiving fair treatment under the FLSA to contact a lawyer immediately to discuss his or her rights. Just because an employer tries to enforce certain rules within the company does not always mean that those rules adhere to the mandates set by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Contact an experienced Texas overtime lawyer at Kennedy Hodges, and you will be provided with a free copy of their book, the Ten Biggest Mistakes that Can Hurt Your Wage and Overtime Claim, as well as a free consultation and case evaluation. Protect your paycheck and call 888.449.2068 or fill out our online form today.