Employers must abide by specific state and federal regulations when paying employees for their work. Employees who are not paid properly may seek legal redress in individual or class action claims against their employers. If your employer did not pay you the amount you are entitled to for straight or overtime wages, or if you were not paid minimum wage, it is advisable to obtain the legal counsel of an experienced and knowledgeable wage and hour employment attorney.
California and Federal Wage and Hour Laws
The California Labor Code and the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act govern wage and hour rules. In the majority of instances, similar violations repeatedly occur:
- Unpaid wages – wages are unpaid or incorrectly calculated
- Unpaid overtime – overtime is not paid due to miscalculation or other issues
- Minimum wage violations – minimum wage requirements are not met
Other Common Wage and Hour Issues:
Other issues that commonly arise pertain to the status of exempt and nonexempt employees:
- Exempt employees are generally higher paid professionals, such as architects, lawyers and engineers
- Nonexempt employees tend to work in activities that are labor intensive, such as an assembly-line worker
- Whether or not the employee is exempt from overtime compensation
- Day to day issues, such as meal breaks, breaks per hours worked, payment for work preparation, properly providing additional meal breaks for shifts of longer duration, pay stub accuracy, and more
Filing for a Wage and Hour Dispute
If you have a wage and hour dispute, you’ll probably need to file a claim with the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor first. The WHD division will conduct an investigation to determine if there are FLSA violations. If a violation is found, they may enforce penalties against the employer. Penalties may demand that employers adjust their labor policies.
If the Department of Labor is unable to provide you with the appropriate remedy, you may also file a private civil lawsuit against your employer. You may be entitled to receive a damages award for losses such as back pay. Employers are prohibited, by law, from firing an employee who makes a report about wage and hour disputes in the workplace.
Benefits
Most wage and hour claims result in a damages award that is issued from the employer to the worker. These are often sufficient to provide relief for losses caused to the employee. Generally, these damage awards cover the unpaid wages, plus other losses that may be related to the claim (such as lost profits on a deal, etc.). In addition, other remedies may include:
- Requirements that the employer change their payment and hour requirements
- Investigations into the company’s overall record-keeping practices
- Firing of a supervisor or manager
- Reinstatement of the worker back to their previous position (if they were also terminated in connection with a dispute)