Averaging of Hours and Overtime

In a case involving an employee leasing company, Dunham & Jones lawyers have filed suit in Moussa Katile v. The Burnett Companies Consolidated, Inc., et al. The suit, filed on November 15, 2013, alleges that the Defendants employed Mr. Katile and leased him to a medical supply assembler where he assembled surgical devices and medical equipment. The Defendants required Mr. Katile to work 36 hours one week and 44 hours the following week. Federal law generally requires an employer to pay time and one-half for all hours worked over 40 in any workweek. Rather than paying Mr. Katile time and one-half for the four hours of overtime in the 44 hour week, the suit alleges the Defendants averaged the hours of the two consecutive weeks and paid no overtime at all. This “averaging of hours” violates Federal Wage and Hour Law. The suit is filed in Federal Court in Houston, Texas, and seeks an amount equaling twice Mr. Katile’s unpaid overtime plus costs and attorney’s fees.