An Insight Into Various Wage Violations

Have you worked hard and still haven’t been paid properly? If you are going through something like this then you have the right to hire a lawyer for unpaid wages to support your case. The Fair Labor Standards Act is meant to protect the rights of the labors and ensures that they receive a minimum wage decided by the federal authorities for each hour of work done.

These laws also help in limiting the number of deductions from a person’s paycheck under certain circumstances. Although the laws can vary across different states, but a lot of them provide many protections like a stipulated settlement time for final payment to employees, including their unsaved vacation time etc. to mitigate paycheck deductions.

Some of the common wage violations have been listed in the following points:

Minimum Wage Violations

Employees have the right to claim minimum wages for each hour of their working time.. The minimum wage rate assigned by the federal authorities is about $7.25 in most of the states and it may vary on a higher side under some states. Every employee is entitled to a minimum wage that is approved by the authorities in the locality of work.

Hours Violations

If the employers make the employees work after the clock out hours or during their meal and rest breaks or deduction during essential training programs or during work related travel time then it is an act of wage violation and the employer can be subjected to legal action.

State Laws on Paydays and Final Paychecks

Although the FLSA doesn’t have a fixed day or date for employee’s payments, but many states have strict policies regarding the same. Therefore, an employee is entitled to receive payment according the norms set by the authorities.

If your employer is involved in any of the wage violations then you can pursue legal action against them to make a claim and be well compensated for all your troubles as well.

Are you updated with the overtime wage related laws?

Many employers in the United States do not pay employees their rightful wages for overtime. Lack of knowledge among workers or their negligence towards total working hours allow employer to cheat them.

To avoid this, you need to get proper information about the rules related to working hours and overtime.

Following is the information that will update you about the wage related laws-

What are the working hours of employee?

Regular working hours of an employee are 40 hours in a workweek. Meetings or sessions are also included in the working hours according to law.

What does overtime mean according to the law?

Every additional hour over 40 working hours in a workweek is considered as overtime according to law. Addition working hours either before or after the regular shift is considered overtime.

How is the overtime wage calculated?

For every extra hour spend over 40 hours, employer has to pay one and half times the regular hourly wage.

However, exceptions are always there in the law based on the work. Therefore, it is essential to collect all the information about the overtime wages law before claiming unpaid wages.

What should you do, if not paid for overtime?

If you are not being paid for your overtime then you must get help from unpaid wages lawyer. They will file a lawsuit against your employer and help you get rightful wages.

What tricks do employers use to cheat workers of their overtime payments?

• Employers ask employees to work before and after they have marked their attendance, so that there is no record of their extra working hours
• Ask employees to arrive at office a few minutes early from their shift
• Hiring staff under unnecessary and false positions
• Making fake work hour records of employees

 

 

A guide for employees to get overtime wages from their employer

Employment violations are most common these days, as you can majority of employers who don’t pay overtime wages to their employees. It has also been come into view by Department of Labor that shows that approximately 35,000 complaints have been registered against the employers for not paying their employees, unpaid wages, or benefits.

If you are one among them, then you need not worry, as you can seek assistance from employment lawyer or lawyer for unpaid wages that are there to help you to overcome your employment problems.

These lawyers are capable of dealing with ample number of violations labor disputes that includes overtime violations, harassment cases, termination of job, and many others. They aim to protect the rights of people who are particularly working as employees in offices. other than hiring a lawyer for getting overtime wages, you need to consider few aspects that would make your case strong in future.

Following are some of the tips that will help you getting wages-

Firstly, if you think that your employer is not paying you, then keep records of hours spent by you other than normal working hours. Many employers either intentionally or mistakenly fail to maintain such records in their system that often leads to not getting benefit. Therefore, it is beneficial for you to leave any kind of doubt.

Secondly, don’t forget to review the policies by the company so that there is no benefit of doubt. If possible, keep a copy of it in a safe place. If you feel that, the company is failing to follow their own policies like paying for overtime, then talk to the authorities. If they are found violating then you are liable to claim for your rights.

Next, if you feel that you not being paid then don’t wait to make a claim, as it take time to get back the claim, even years. You should ask your employer if not being paid. If the employer does not explain you the reason, then move on and consult attorney.

However, before consulting an attorney, make sure to do some research work to choose the best attorney if you still not have hired. It is very essential to choose a lawyer who is reputable and holds years of experience. Once you find a reliable attorney, make sure that before visiting him, you do all the paperwork and show them the evidence or the detailed list of the hours that you have worked so that you get entitled to avail overtime pay.

What are the FLSA rules about paid and unpaid holidays?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) law was created to protect employees’ rights related to wages and work hours. This act specifies rules about the different aspects of workplace such as minimum wages, work hours, overtime, holidays etc. Every employer whether individual or company, has to comply with these rules. Non-compliance of these rules is violation of law, which is a punishable offense.

Law also defines rules related to holidays of workers that are paid and unpaid. Following are the holidays that are paid or unpaid according to law-

Severance pay – This aspect is not included in law. It is based solely on the agreement between the employer and workers. An individual is liable to get this pay upon termination (if it is included in the employment contract). Individual can contact a specialized unpaid wages lawyer if it was included in the employment agreement and the company refuses to pay it.

Vacations – According to the law, vacation time is usually not included in the paid wages. It is another aspect that is solely based on the contract between the employer and employees. An individual is liable to get payment for vacations if it is defined in their contract.

Paid leaves – An individual is not eligible to get payments for leaves if it is not defined in their contract. Employers only have to pay for workers’ predefined day offs. Employees can file a lawsuit if their boss refuses to make payments for predetermined leaves in contract.

Sick leave – Sick leaves are also out of federal laws. It comes under the covenant between the boss and the workers. Hence, many companies fall under the FMLA act. Enterprises that fall under this act, give up to twelve weeks of leaves to their staff. None of these leaves is paid.

Federal law does not include several other workplace factors such as cash bonuses, life insurance, meals, and rest periods. Usually, these aspects and relevant wages depend on the agreement between company and workers. Any field or industry you are working in, you need to gather complete information about company’s policies and contracts. It helps you to get fair wages. If you are not getting fair wages, you can take legal help from lawyers.

Don’t be Tricked by Employers when it comes to Overtime Payment

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.