In fast paced jobs like in a restaurant, there are two types of jobs: prep work and work that occurs as customers place orders. Most cooks are expected to play both these roles. Sometimes, prep work may involve preparing vegetables or pizza bases so that the customer gets his/her meal on time. This period is the one that is most often avoided when it comes to calculating wages. However, the Wage and Hour Law which is controlled by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states that all time spent as a cook in a workplace should be paid for whether it is prep work or cooking a custom dish for a customer.
Your employer cannot demand you do unpaid prep work or tidy up your workplace at the end of the day. If your employer persistently refuses to pay you then this constitutes wage theft which violates the Wage and Hour Law which is a worker protection law included in the FLSA.
When Does Unpaid Wages Become Wage Theft?
There are other examples of wage theft apart from not paying for prep time which include:
- failing to pay the minimum wage for a cook;
- failing to pay the correct overtime rates;
- failing to pay yearly increments.
- illegal deductions;
- no payment to the cook has been made at all.
Your employer has to pay you for all of the time that you spent working (hourly) and at least the minimum wage if you are salaried. It is not your job to keep a record of your hours’ worked or calculate your pay. That is the sole responsibility of your employer. However, when you discover that you aren’t receiving the right amount you have to take the matter into your own hands and question why you are not receiving the right amount of money.
What to Do if You Are Faced With Wage Theft
If you have to deal with wage theft, you should start to document your hours worked and compare them to the pay stubs you receive. If you find that you are not receiving what you think you should be paid your employer is probably committing wage theft. At this point, the normal course of action is to contact your HR and report the wage theft. You just need to explain the mistake that has been made and see what the response is. If the HR denies a mistake has been made and you are sure your evidence cannot be disputed you may have grounds for filing a complaint with the Department of Labor which monitors the Wage and Hour violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Once you have filed the complaint the Labor Commissioner will contact your employer to determine whether you have been a victim of wage theft. If there is any way the wage theft can be solved through mediation the Labor Commissioner will start the process. If this fails, then a lawsuit may be the only way to proceed further.
If the Labor Commissioner believes you have a strong case you may be told you can file a lawsuit to recover the wage theft. At this point it is a good idea to contact an employment attorney.
Speak With an Attorney About Your Wage Theft
If you think you might be a victim of wage theft, an attorney can help by studying your evidence and deciding if you have a good case for filing a lawsuit. The sorts of compensation you may receive if your lawsuit is successful are:
- the repayment of the amount of your wage theft;
- compensation calculated for your pain and suffering due to the wage theft;
- punitive damages if the court finds that your employer deliberately denied you wages by committing wage theft;
- attorney’s fees.
Filing a lawsuit compensates you for the hardship you have experienced while warning the employer that wage theft is both unacceptable and illegal. However, preparing for a lawsuit takes time and you only have a limited amount of time to do it depending on the state. This is called the statute of limitations. Once the deadline is over, you will not have any other chance of getting your wage theft repaid.
