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There is a Limited Time to File a Claim Under the FLSA and Florida Minimum Wage Act
Ilona Demenina Anderson, Esq. • Jun 16, 2014

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law designed to protect the most vulnerable workers in the labor force, especially hourly workers. The provisions of the FLSA cover a wide variety of areas, but among its main provisions include the definition of the 40-hour work week and when employers have to pay overtime, and the establishment and enforcement of minimum wages and who qualifies for them. It also establishes rules regarding working minors, especially when and how long they are allowed to work.

In addition to the FLSA, most Florida workers are also covered by the Minimum Wage Act, which sets a slightly higher minimum wage than the FLSA, and indexes the wage according to the Consumer Price Index.

If you are an employee covered under the federal FLSA or under Florida state law, and you believe your employer violated the rules, you may be entitled to back pay or overtime for those violations, as well as a possible penalty. However, anyone in this position should understand that procrastination is not an option. It is in your best interest to act as quickly as possible after you realize the law has been broken. You have a limited time to file a claim, because every claim is subject to a statute of limitations.


Depending on the circumstances, several different statutes of limitations periods could apply. In most cases that can be brought under the FLSA, the employee filing the claim has a two-year limit to bring action and recover unpaid wages. However, if the employer’s action is shown to be willful, that limit extends to three years. In the context of the FLSA, that means that an aggrieved employee can recover unpaid wages going back no more than two years (or three for willful violations) from the date a lawsuit is filed. For those employees who are no longer working for the non-compliant employer that could mean that with every passing day the value of their wage claim is decreased. As such, it is vital that you act quickly.

For minimum wage violations, Florida law sets the statute of limitations for violations of the state’s Minimum Wage Act differently, and gives an employee up to four years, if the employer’s actions were not found to be willful. If a violation of that law is found to be willful, however, the limit goes up to five years. A willful violation is one in which the employer knew he had a duty to pay the wages but refused to do so.

Keep in mind, a statute of limitations is generally inviolable; the date is hard and fast, and it cannot be extended; not even for a day or two. If you fail to bring a claim within the time period set by the law, you will forever lose the right to make a claim and recover the money owed. It doesn’t matter if you have the greatest case ever filed; you have to file it in a timely manner, subject to these legal limits.

It’s important to note, however, that you should at least investigate your options and consider discussing your case with an attorney, even if you think it’s possible you passed the beyond the statute of limitations. First of all, you may be able to make a case that the employer’s actions were “willful,” which would give you a little more time under the FLSA. You may also have overlooked some extenuating circumstances that could potentially change your situation. For example, if an employer fraudulently told an employee they were exempt when they knew, or should have known they were not, and the employee relied on that, that employee may have a fraud claim. In some cases, if you missed the deadline for an FLSA, it could possibly fit under Florida’s Minimum Wage Act, and that, too, could give you more time. In a situation like that, the employee may not be able to collect the full overtime pay in that time, it’s possible they could collect at the minimum wage rate of pay. And finally, there may be other statutory or common law remedies available to you depending on the particular factual circumstances of your potential claim.

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