What Legal Options Do You Have When You are Fired Wrongly?

Every year thousands of cases are filed against employers that unlawfully fire their employees for improper reasons. One of the trending reasons behind such incidents is retaliation after they raise voice for their unpaid and overtime wages. Hence, it is necessary for workers to understand that they are protected from terminations or other punishments after speaking up about their wages if they are shorted their lawful pay.

Getting fair pay is the right of every employee and under no circumstance, they should compromise with it. You are entitled to pay for every hour worked. Anything done for the benefit of the employer, such as security checks, folding napkins, booting up a computer is time that should be compensated. If you have any concerns, consulting a professional overtime attorney is highly suggested.

A professional can explain all the laws that protect you in these situations. You can book a free confidential consultation session to have your present situation evaluated. If they find out that your rights were compromised, and that you were wrongfully terminated, you may receive the following damage coverage.

Front Pay- It includes the coverage of lost future earnings and benefits caused by an illegal termination. The idea of the front pay is to visualize the situation where wrongful termination of the employee did not occur and compare it with the present situation. A front pay award will be allowed, if worker is found getting paid less compared to the payments before the wrongful termination.

Back Pay- It includes the calculation of what the employee has earned after the termination and what they would have earned up to the date of verdict, to calculate the damages. However, in some circumstances, the employer can reduce a back pay award, if employer successful proves that the accuser’s mitigation efforts were not good enough.

Emotional Suffering- This is a tricky issue. Most jurors are not sympathetic with emotional suffering in a commercial or business dispute. If there is some degree of sexual harassment in which an employer coerces an employee for sex as a condition for employment, otherwise known as quid pro quo sexual harassment, the employee may be entitled for this recovery. Employee can also receive a compensation for their emotional suffering. However, it is necessary to present evidence that shows a genuine connection between the emotional pain and unlawful act of the employer. It is understandable that sufferers do not always seek medical help for emotional disturbance, but still some credible evidence of the distress is mandatory.

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What Options do You Have When You aren’t Being Paid Fairly?

The law clearly states that every employee is entitled to receive pay for every hour worked. Still the number of complaints for overtime violations and pending wages is increasing day-by-day.  This is due to the bad economy.  Ironically, even in a good economy management still tries to maximize profit and mid-level to high level management receive bonuses at the expense of the workers by keeping labor costs to a minimum.

7 most common ways in which employers usually exploit their employee’s rights are-

1. Asking employees to work while they are “off the clock”

2. Asking them to work through their meal breaks

3. Not providing them a free uniterrupted meal breaks

4. Not paying overtime with one and half of their normal pay rate
 
5. Telling workers that work performed on pre-shift/post-shift hours is not compensable

6. Paying them less than minimum wages set by FLSA

Every employee needs to understand that under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), they must be paid at least minimum wage for normal work hours. Whereas for any work done after their weekly 40 hours’ work, they are entitled to overtime pay. Most of the times, it is calculated by multiplying regular pay rate by 1.5.

If you believe that your rights have been breached, you should seek assistance from a skilled overtime attorney. The overtime lawyer can offer you a free consultation to analyze your present situation and to find out whether you are entitled to file a lawsuit, or not. These wage and hour lawyers may also investigate the matter to determine if this should be filed as an overtime class action, individually, or in some instances not at all. 

They will suggest you to file a lawsuit against the employer after evaluating all the other options. They can protect your rights and help assist you in receiving all owed wages and sometimes it’s possible to receive double or even triples damages with attorney fees paid separately.

Receiving fair pay is the right of every employee and under no circumstance you should compromise on that.

It is strongly recommended to keep track of all your working hours and pay slips to have your situation evaluated properly. It will also support your claims in case you file a lawsuit. Keep policies and procedure manual of your workplace with you to help your attorney with more detailed information.

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How to Obtain Proper Pay from Your Employer?

Many times, employers cheat their employees on their proper pay just to cut corners and save some money. They take advantage of people holding onto their position in the bad economy and get more work done from employees by making them work extra hours and paying less or no extra money.

Some of the most common employer-employee wage and hour disputes are

• Paying less than the Federal or State minimum wage
• Taking a tip credit, but improperly sharing the tips with management
• Improper or illegal Deductions from wages
• Paying an improper day rate
• Not paying overtime
• Extending shifts without paying for the extra time
• Not paying for the work done after shift/pre-shift/during meal breaks.

If you too have fallen victim to any of the aforementioned conditions, you should immediately consult an overtime lawyer.

An experienced attorney may provide you with complete information about your labor rights and labor laws. Following are a few situations in which an accomplished employment lawyer can help you fight for your rights -

Wages – You have a right to be paid for all the hours you’ve worked. If an employer makes you work off the clock, or makes you conduct activities such as go to seminars for the benefit of the employer, the employer is generally liable to pay you for that time.

Overtime – If your employer refuses to pay for hours over 40, then the employer must have an exemption to the labor code which can be fairly complicated. In most cases at minimum if an employer wants to pay via a salary, the employee must be guaranteed $455 a week, but there are still other criteria an employer needs to satisfy. For example, did you know that a chef may properly be paid a salary, but a cook may not!  It’s those subtle distinctions why you should speak with an experienced lawyer who can educate you on your overtime rights.

Improper Deductions – If an employer mandates you use their tools and then deducts it from your pay you may be entitled to obtain that money back. Imagine showing up for a desk job and then an employer charging you to use the computer so you can work? There’s no end to the type of ruses employers use to deprive you of pay, but some deductions are appropriate and some aren’t.

If you are a victim of wage theft, then you should consult with an experienced employment and labor lawyer immediately. Many lawyers offer legal help without any upfront payment.

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