Investigation of Failure to Include Site Allowances, Stage Bonuses, Shift Differentials, COVID pay, and Other Extra Pay in Overtime

Do you work in construction, oil and gas, or healthcare and have extra pay on top of your normal hourly wages? If so, your employer may be miscalculating your overtime and you could be owed money.

Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating various employers for failure to properly calculate overtime rates when providing guaranteed bonuses. Employers often pay workers over and above their normal hourly wages through “allowances,” “bonuses,” or “differentials.” Unfortunately, these employers often then underpay their workers by failing to include this additional pay when calculating their overtime rate. Consequently, each pay period, the employee is short-changed a subtle, yet substantial, amount. Many workers at large companies have recently filed class action lawsuits against their employers, alleging that their companies chronically and consistently underpaid them. These types of bonus payments are particularly common for construction workers, including union craft workers, workers in the oil and gas industry, and workers in the healthcare industry and may go by a number of names, including:

  • Site Allowance
  • Stage Bonus
  • Shift Differential
  • Safety bonus
  • Production bonus
  • Performance award/bonus
  • Sign-On Bonus
  • Spotlight award (may be paid via gift card)
  • Other guaranteed pay or non-discretionary bonuses
  • COVID pay
  • Essential pay
  • Hazard pay
  • Hero Pay

If you are an hourly employee who earned any non-discretionary extra pay, as referenced above, in the last three years, there is a chance you were not paid all that you were entitled to according to federal and state labor laws.

For example, if a construction employee who earns $10/hour works ten hours of overtime, the calculation for overtime pay is simple – he or she earns time-and-a-half of the hourly rate ($15) x 10 hours, for $150. However, if the employee also receives $10 each day in a “site allowance,” the overtime rate for time-and-a-half must be higher than $15/hour – the employer must include the extra $10 per day for the “site allowance” in that calculation. The total amount of overtime pay would then be greater than $150.

Are you an hourly employee who earned any non-discretionary extra pay (e.g. performance or spotlight awards, COVID or hazard pay) in the last three years and suspect it was not factored into your overtime pay?

If so, please complete the form below, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call at (202) 470-3520 for more information. If you qualify, an attorney will contact you to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.


Attorneys Committed to Fighting Wage Theft

The lawyers at Migliaccio & Rathod LLP have years of experience in class action litigation against large corporations, including in cases involving wage theft and unfair & deceptive trade practices. More information about our current cases and investigations is available on our blog.