No one is above the law, not even the big brands!

According to the law, every employer is liable to pay fair for the work hours of their workers. If not paid properly, every employee has the right to file a lawsuit against employer. Not even big brands are safe from lawsuits when it comes to unpaid wages.

In 2014, the renowned firm LinkedIn Corp. was ordered to pay $6 Million to over 350 current and former workers. The lawsuit was filed on the basis of allegations that the firm did not measure the proper working hours. Payment was for the pending unpaid overtime wages and damages to the workers in many different locations.

Noted Allstate Insurance Company also faced similar claims. According to claims, the company exempted employees from the overtime rules determined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Workers were not paid for the extra hours they spent working at job (over 40 in a regular workweek). Insurance adjusters are frequently misclassified as exempt from overtime, and made to work endless hours without overtime compensation. Even when they are classified properly to be paid overtime, often times insurance adjusters, like other industries force their works to work off the clock to keep their overtime costs down, but to keep their profits up.

In another case, the famous food chain McDonald’s faced allegations of not paying fair wages to the employees. Their workers from three states filed the claim for fair payments.

Subway’s franchisees also faced allegations of not paying legitimately to their employees. A claim was filed in which this franchisee was ordered to pay about $52,000 to workers.

A well-known name in baseball, the Miami Marlins faced allegations of not paying fairly to their staff. The team was forced to pay $300,000 to its thirty-nine employees. The San Francisco Giants is another renowned baseball team, which also faced a lawsuit from their employees. Team was told to pay almost $545,000 to seventy four workers.

There are several other examples where big brands faced lawsuits from their current or former employees regarding unpaid wages and overtime. It includes names like Uncle Bear’s Grill & Bar, a franchise of Dunkin’ Donuts, Rosa’s Pizza and Pasta Restaurants and more.

Every employee has the right to get paid for the work, efforts, and hours they put in their job. If employers are not paying their staff members according to the rules of FLSA, the employee should contact an overtime attorney. Experienced attorneys have the knowledge of law and experience in protecting workers’ wage related rights and can help you in getting your unpaid payments.

Deliberate Employer Mistakes that directly indicate FLSA Violations

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has set clear standards for wages, overtime, commissions, bonuses, vacations, etc. However, still employers try to find their way around the law and the increasing numbers of wage and hour violations says it all. High numbers of these violations are mainly because of the mistakes made by the employers with a purpose of wage theft. It is crucial for the workers to understand their employee rights and ensure they do not become the next victim for such employers.

Following are the mistakes that many employers deliberately make that violate wage and hour regulations-

• Overlooking Compensable Hours– It is mandatory for employers to pay their employees based on the FLSA guidelines whether it is minimum wages, overtime, meals break, pre-shift or post-shift work. But unfortunately, many employers intentionally make illegal pay deductions without worrying about the law. Or the employer may confuse the employee into believing the time is not compensable. Time spent for the benefit of the employer is almost always compensable, and the employees should be paid for it. Such work may include setting up, shutting down, doing a security check for the employer, time spent waiting looking for a seat to work, time spent waiting for a computer to boot up, etc. For lunch, if an employer does not give freedom during lunch and provide an uninterrupted lunch time the employer generally needs to pay for that time.

• Ignoring Wage and Hour Audits- It is good practice to conduct wage and hour audits on a regular basis. Ignoring these audits may results in the misclassification of employees.

• Improper Employee Classification– Determining whether an employee is entitled to receive overtime can be a difficult task for a layperson, but it is still inexcusable not to consult with a lawyer who handles employee classification first. Many employers purposely misclassify their employees in order to prevent paying money that they are entitled to receive and don’t bother checking because they don’t want to know the truth, because they can’t handle the truth.

• Not Addressing Complaints– Most of the times, employers learn about wage and hour issues only when a lawsuit has been filed with the assistance of an unpaid overtime attorney. They deliberately ignore complaints and questions of their workers, which should have been resolved initially.

If you believe that your employer has compromised your employee rights, you need to raise your voice against it. You should seek help from a professional attorney to protect your rights. These lawyers usually offer a free consultation and do not charge any fee unless they win the case for you. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you should seek legal help to receive the money that you are entitled to.

What Questions Do Lawyers Ask Their Clients to Evaluate an Unpaid Wages Lawsuit?

Are you a victim of unpaid salaries or wage theft? Is your employer refusing to pay for the overtime you spent at job? If your answer is yes to any of above-mentioned questions, you should contact an unpaid wages lawyer. Experienced lawyers ask various questions to evaluate an unpaid wages lawsuit. You should be prepared for this process to clarify your situation and problems.

Following are few of the questions that unpaid wages attorneys ask their clients –

How many hours you work?

This is the first question that every attorney asks whenever you contact them for unpaid wages claim. They inquire about your normal and extra working hours. For example, usually there are 40 hours for work in a workweek. Every hour spent working over 40 is considered overtime.

How and what you are paid?

It should be the next question. Some employees are paid hourly while others are salaried. Labor and employment lawyers inquire about the payment process to evaluate their case. They ensure if their client has been actually cheated on payments by their employers. Sometimes an employee wants to gloss over the answer and says “I’m paid salary so I don’t receive overtime” and think that’s the end of the discussion. Sometimes, that’s just the beginning! Even if you’re on salary you may still be entitled to overtime.

They also inquire about the regular rate of your pay to ensure that you are getting minimum wages (if applicable according to your occupation). They make sure that overtime rate is one and a half of the regular rate.

How was your time tracked?

Attorneys also ask their clients how their time was tracked. Usually, time is recorded through computer, clock and in writing at workplaces. Lawyers generally ask if there is a record or not of their working hours. Don’t worry if you don’t have records, it’s the employer’s duty to keep them and their failure to maintain them can be used against them.

What are the most common reasons provided by employer for not paying wages or overtime?

Employers provide variety of reasons to their employees to justify their decision of not paying proper wages and overtime. Attorneys inquire about the reason employers provided them for not paying fair salary. It includes reasons like your occupation is exempt from overtime, lunch hours are not included in overtime, you are a salaried employee, or anything else for that matter.

Details of your work and your employer

Attorney will ask questions about the details of your workplace. They will also inquire about your work type, location of workplace, people involved in case (if any), company’s details, their working hours, payment methods and more. All these details help lawyers in properly evaluating the case.