Who can assist you in getting your unpaid wages?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law that protects wages and other rights of employees in America. Still, many workers fall victim to wage theft and unpaid salaries. Employers find different methods like falsely claiming an exempted position or employee contract to trick workers out of their fair wages. Usually, they trick employees in overtime, bonuses, paychecks, and commissions, breaks, off the clockwork, vacations, or leave.

There are many different government agencies charged with investigating wage theft, but the government is not incentivized to zealously protect your rights. Government workers receive a salary no matter what happens to your case, they are graded statistically on them resolving cases, not necessarily by the quality of the resolution. In contrast, most private attorneys who litigate wage and hour disputes are not paid unless they win your case, so they have ever incentive to win your case and win big, if feasible.

You can contact an unpaid wages attorney to file a lawsuit against your employer. Usually, lawyers first speak with you at length about your case and determine if this affects many other people. If so, it may be brought as a class or collective action which can try to maximize your recovery and remedy an injustice. In contrast to a government settlement, if your case is brought as a class, the lawyers will try to get you an incentive award above and beyond your maximum relief that you may be entitled to by law.

In off the clock claims, as the plaintiff you have the burden of proof and you need to provide proper evidences of wage theft. It may include records of work hours (whether on paper or electronic), paychecks etc. and evidence contradicting the paid hours. If you are classified as exempt from overtime and the employer makes you work many hours claiming your salaried, the employer has the burden of proof. For example, if they call you an account manager and try to say your exempt from overtime but you don’t manage any people, they may have misclassified you and you may be entitled to overtime for all those overtime hours worked.

What can you get from lawsuit?

Under Federal Law, Workers can get back payments if they win lawsuit in court. They might also get an equal amount for the liquidated damages. In addition, the attorney's fees are often paid separately. Each state may also have other damages you are entitled to.

You should discuss with your lawyer about the compensations or other fees you may receive on winning the unpaid salary case.

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How Are The Most Common Types Of Wage Theft?

The number of cases for wage theft is at rise in the United States. Wage theft is an illegal act in which employer refuses to pay fair payments to their employees. It often occurs when the employer deliberately shorts the employee pay, or confuses the employee regarding the pay and their wage and hour rights.

While there are many federal and state laws to prevent this illegal act, many employers still manage to find a way to cheat their workers out of their fair payments.

Below mentioned are the most common types of wage theft–

alaries etc. to their employees. It includes t of their fair payments. But what is wage theft?

• Overtime – Many employers refuses to pay overtime to employees for all the extra work and hours they have spent in office. According to the law, workers have the right to overtime for each hour they spend working after 40 work hours in a regular workweek. In addition, there are several exemptions for overtime based on employees’ occupations. You need to confirm with your boss and lawyer if you do or do not fall under the exempt category. If you are a non-exempt worker, then your boss is liable to pay for each hour you work over 40 (in a week). Even if your employer pays you on a salary basis, you may still be entitled to overtime if they’ve misclassified you.
• Minimum Wage – This is another category in which employers do wage theft. The law has determined the minimum wage that bosses have to pay to their employees. Many companies try to cheat their staff out of proper pay. They decline to pay the minimum wage amount to workers, which is a violation of law. This may happen in a number of ways including improperly claiming a tip credit against minimum wage. Also, some states have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage and the employer is obligated to pay the higher of the two, not the lower!
• Improper deductions in pay – Many companies illegally subtract a certain amount from their employee’s pay. The deduction may be for a lunch period that a worker does not have which is free and uninterrupted, or a mandatory assessment for equipment that the employer was supposed to provide.
• Employee misclassification – Many companies try to trick their employees out of their salaries by wrongly classifying them in a different manner. They try to describe workers occupations as independent contractors so that they can be exempted from benefits like minimum salaries, overtime, and more. They also may call them managers when they only manage phones and not people.
• Working off the clock– Some employers make their workers work off the clock, which is also a violation of the law.

What you should do if you fall victim to wage theft?

The FLSA, or Fair Labor Standards Act allows a private right of action. You should contact an FLSA overtime attorney to get comprehensive legal counsel. Overtime lawyers generally only charge if they win your case and offer free consultations.

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