One of the great things about working in the United States of America is that people can work extra hours and generally earn overtime. Workers are supposed to earn fair wages for their hard work, yet many go on to be victimized by employers who play tricks on them to avoid paying proper wages.
Employers do that by making people work before they log in and after they have clocked out. During that time, even though workers have officially logged out, they are still made to carry out office work. If that is the case, employers are legally entitled to overtime.
There are times when management requires employees to volunteer for charitable work. However, this work is only voluntary in nature, which means a person willingly steps forward for the task without expecting any monetary benefits in return.
But in case your company is leaving you no choice but to do the charitable work without your willingness, then you must be paid.
Sometimes employees toil through their lunch hours and the management may pretend it is not aware that their employees are working during break time. A company may ignore that, but that does not snatch away your right to overtime. An employee is entitled to a lunch period free and uninterrupted from work. If you have to take lunch at your desk and do work, you are entitled to be paid for your lunch hour.
Here are few steps to take, if you are being tricked in similar fashion by your employer:
Make sure to record the number of hours worked. Although this is the responsibility of employer, but do that yourself too. Maintain a calendar or diary and write down your hours. There are apps available for smart phones which workers can use to keep track of their work timings.
If you feel that your company has classified you as an independent contractor but is still treating you like a regular employee, you may still be entitled to employee benefits. The standard is to look at the economic realities between you and the company, whether it controls your work hours conditions of employment, whether you are free to take other work, etc. It is a fact sensitive inquiry.
If you want to file a complaint against your employer, you should consider hiring a lawyer for unpaid wages. If the employer is found to have willfully violated the overtime laws, you may be entitled to receive double the money owed, along with the costs of litigation and attorney’s fees paid separately by the defendant. Whatever trick the employer is trying a skilled employment lawyer who examines overtime claims has probably seen it and can tell you how it will play out in Court.
Wage Warriors 