To succeed on [his/her] claim against [name(s) of [individual manager/supervisor] [and/or] [company] defendant(s)], [Plaintiff] must prove each of the following facts by a preponderance of the evidence:
Second: [Name(s) of defendant(s)] failed to pay [Plaintiff] the [minimum wage/overtime pay] required by law.
For the first element, [Plaintiff] must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that [he/she] was an employee [engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce/employed by an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce].
The term “commerce” has a very broad meaning and includes any trade, transportation, transmission, or communication between any place within a state and any place outside that state. [Plaintiff] was engaged in the “production of goods” if [he/she] was employed in producing, manufacturing, mining, handling, or transporting goods, or in any other manner worked on goods or any closely related process or occupation directly essential to the production of goods. [An “enterprise engaged in commerce or the production of goods for commerce” means a business that has employees engaged in commerce or the production of commercial goods for commerce and has annual gross sales of at least $500,000.]
[Minimum wage claim: The minimum wage required by the FLSA during the period involved in this case was $ [minimum wage] per hour. [To determine whether the employer(s) [has/have] paid the minimum wage, [it/they] [is/are] entitled to a credit for the reasonable costs of furnishing certain non-cash items to [Plaintiff] [unless those costs are excluded from [Plaintiff]’s wages under the terms of a union contract that applies to [Plaintiff]], such as meals and lodging for the employee’s benefit, and the employee voluntarily accepts them.]
[Overtime claim: The FLSA requires [an] employer(s) to pay an employee at least one-and-one-half times the employee’s “regular rate” for time worked over 403 hours in a workweek. Put another way, if an employee works more than 40 hours in one workweek, the employer(s) must pay the employee the overtime rate of 1.5 times the regular rate for all time worked after the first 40 hours. This is commonly known as time-and-a-half pay for overtime work.]
[The employee’s regular rate for one week is the basis for calculating any overtime pay due to the employee. The “regular rate” for a week is determined by dividing the total wages paid for the week by [40/the total number of hours [Plaintiff]’s weekly salary was intended to compensate]. To calculate how much overtime pay was owed to [Plaintiff] for a certain week, subtract 40 from the total number of hours [he/she] worked and multiply the difference by the overtime rate. [Name(s) of defendant(s)] failed to pay [Plaintiff] the required pay if [he/she/it/they] paid [him/her] less than that amount.]
[Exemption: In this case, [name(s) of defendant(s)] claim[s] that [he/she/it/they] [is/are] exempt from the FLSA’s overtime provisions. To establish that [he/she/it/they] [is/are] exempt, [name(s) of defendant(s)] must prove each of the following facts by a preponderance of the evidence: [List essential elements of the claimed exemption].
If you find that [name(s) of defendant(s)] [is/are] exempt, you will not decide the issue of [Plaintiff]’s damages. But if you find that [name(s) of defendant(s)] [is/are] not exempt, you must decide the issue of [Plaintiff]’s damages.]
The amount of damages is the difference between the amount [Plaintiff] should have been paid and the amount [he/she] was actually paid. [Plaintiff] is entitled to recover lost wages from the date of your verdict back to no more than two years before [he/she] filed this lawsuit [date of complaint] unless you find that the employer(s) either knew or showed reckless disregard for whether the FLSA prohibited [its/their] conduct. If you find that the employer(s) knew or showed reckless disregard for whether the FLSA prohibited [its/their] conduct, then [Plaintiff] is entitled to recover lost wages from date of your verdict back to no more than three years before [he/she] filed this lawsuit.
[Inadequate Records: The law requires [an] employer(s) to keep records of how many hours [his/her/its/their] employees work and the amount they are paid. In this case, [Plaintiff] claims that [name(s) of defendant(s)] failed to keep and maintain adequate records of [his/her] hours and pay. [Plaintiff] also claims that [name(s) of defendant(s)]’s failure to keep and maintain adequate records has made it difficult for [Plaintiff] to prove the exact amount of [his/her] claim.
If you find that [name(s) of defendant(s)] failed to keep adequate time and pay records for [Plaintiff] and that [Plaintiff] performed work for which [he/she] should have been paid, [Plaintiff] may recover a reasonable estimation of the amount of [his/her] damages. But to recover this amount, [Plaintiff] must prove by a preponderance of the evidence a reasonable estimation of the amount and extent of the work for which [he/she] seeks pay.]
[Individual Liability: An individual can also be liable for a plaintiff’s damages under the FLSA if the individual played a substantial role in causing the FLSA violation. To determine whether the individual is liable, you must consider all the relevant circumstances rather than any one technical factor. [Plaintiff] must prove that [name(s) of individual defendant(s)] had operational control over [name(s) of company defendant(s)/the enterprise that is covered by the FLSA]. In other words, [name(s) of individual defendant(s)] must have controlled significant aspects of [name(s) of company defendant(s)]’s day-to-day functions, including employee compensation, or had direct responsibility for the supervision of [Plaintiff].]
