4 Workplace Rights You Need to Know While Working

Do you know your rights at your workplace? Many employers understand labor law and follow them, but in reality many employers regularly defy employment law. To avoid any critical situation, you need to know what your workplace rights are and be careful that your employee follows it.

1. Your employer can not hold back your paycheck for poor performance: No matter what performance you give, your employer has no right to block your salary. Of course, if you really mess up, if you are not following the policies and giving bad performance, you may be fired after a warning but you might get fired, but you still must be paid for all the hours you worked.

2. You must receive your paycheck on time:  Most state laws say how soon you must receive your paycheck after a pay period ends. In some states, an employer is alleged to pay additional money on top of your waged as penalty if your salary is late.

3. Whether you are eligible for lawyer overtime pay is decided by the government: The federal government has divided the job types into: exempt and nonexempt category. If your job is categorized as non-exempt, your employer must pay you overtime for all hours you work above 40 in a week. Your categorization is also determined by government guidelines.

4. Your employer cannot ask you to work off the clock: If you're a non-exempt employee, you are liable to be paid for all the working hours. You can't give up this right.

If your employer is violating any of the law, the most effective first step is to talk to your manager. You will probably get a better outcome, if you consider an overtime lawyer or some specialized lawyer who deals in such cases.

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Know Your Rights!- What If You Aren't Getting Compensated For Your Overtime?

Overtime hours worked by the employees have to be compensated from the employer as it is their right. And if the employer is cutting losses and refusing to pay for overtime, it is time to file a lawsuit for your unpaid wages. There are different factors that play a part for you to claim a legit compensation.

Standard minimum wages:

You must be paid the minimum wage for the hours you have worked for or the agreed wage at the time of contract. And if your employer is refusing to pay that rate, then you should file a lawsuit.

Overtime wages:

If you are working overtime, then you should be paid extra than the normal wages. Under the law governed differently by different states, the overtime wages have to paid if the forty hour weekly limit of the employee is being exceeded and the wages should be one hundred fifty percent of your regular rate. And if your employer is failing to pay you overtime, then you will have legit claim to pursue lawsuit against your employer.  

 Penalty fees:

By law, the employer is to pay additional penalty along with the unpaid wages. The attorney fees also has to be paid in addition to the the money you spend in  pursuing the case. If you win the lawsuit, then every additional cost you spent for the case, the penalty, the overtime pay will have to be paid to you.

Rate of interest:

State laws have regulations regarding the unpaid or overtimes wages and one has to be paid along with the rate of interest which is liquidated damage. The amount that is charged over the unpaid wages is set as lieu of interest, to be awarded to employee who has successfully proven the charges against the employer under federal law.

So these are the some basic overtime payment regulations and if your employer is breaking the law by violating the agreement, it is time to hire a law firm for filing the lawsuit.

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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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FAQs For Unpaid Wages Lawsuit

What are unpaid wages?

The part of your pay that has been incorrectly withheld by employer is called unpaid wage. It can include commissions, vocational pay, overtime money, bonus or simply a paycheck which the company did not pay.

Who is entitled for overtime pay?

Apart from the job profiles that are exempted, all employees are entitled for overtime pay. In case of any ambiguities in this aspect, talk to an unpaid overtime attorney.

What if an employee agrees to work extra hours, but the employer doesn’t pay for it?

That would be illegal. Every company is required to maintain records of the number of hours worked by their employees and their corresponding pay. It is not the employees’ responsibility to maintain these records. If the management fails to maintain such records, lawsuit can be filed against the company.

How much money can an individual receive if he wins the overtime lawsuit?

If an employee has filed the petition, he stands a chance to get lot more than just his unpaid wage. He is potentially entitled to receive unpaid overtime salary that he should have been paid, the interest on that amount, and his lawyer’s fee. In few cases, individuals also receive additional amount that is called liquidated damage.

Liquidate damage doubles the unpaid wages amount. For instance, if your company owes your $10,000 worth of unpaid salary and if you end-up getting liquidate damage, your company will have to pay double the money which amounts to $20,000.

In most of the cases people are entitled to receive liquidated damages, except for the situations where employer is able to prove his acts were in good faith. 

How many years’ overtime can an individual claim for?

The FLSA says that an employee can claim last two years’ unpaid wages from the time of the filing the lawsuit. In few cases, this period can be extended to three years, if employer willfully failed to pay the money.

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