There are strict laws in place that apply to employers and workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) indicates that employers must track employee time and ensure that they are paid for the hours that they worked. If you work more than 40 hours per week, and you are a non-exempt employee, they must pay you overtime at a rate that is one-and-a-half times your regular hourly wage. Sometimes an employee who is paid on a salary basis is eligible for overtime. It depends on your job classification and employment contract.
If your employer doesn’t track your hours, it is hard to be sure that you are being paid for all the time that you work. In that case, you should be sure to keep track of your hours yourself. This could be by writing down your time on a time sheet or timecard, or by just simply keeping a journal. You should also document all breaks. If you don’t believe you are being paid for all the hours that you work, you should bring it up to your supervisor or the human resources department at your work.
Without keeping track of your hours, it would be hard to prove you were being paid fairly for all the work that you have done. Even if your employer is tracking your time, you should be sure to track it as well. If you have supporting documentation that shows your time worked, then you have proof as to whether you have been paid for all the time you are working.
When you track your own hours, you should compare the time that you worked with your paystub. If the time you worked and tracked do not match up with your pay, then you will need to make sure that you notify your human resources and payroll departments of the discrepancies. You will need to maintain copies of the documentation in case your employer doesn’t compensate you for the time that you worked, and the matter isn’t resolved after you have filed a complaint.
The Law is on Your Side
When it comes to ensuring that you are paid for all the time that you worked, there are laws on your side. The FLSA indicates that you must be paid timely, fairly – at the agreed amount and no less than minimum wage, and that you must be paid overtime if you are a non-exempt employee. If you are not paid at the agreed wage, or if you are not paid for all the hours that you worked, then your employer has committed wage theft. Wage theft is a crime, and your employer can face harsh penalties from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and they can be required to pay you for your damages.
If they allege that you didn’t work as much as you say you did, they must prove otherwise. If they did not maintain accurate and thorough records regarding when you worked and the hours that you worked, then the EEOC or the state labor board or any other oversight committee will go by the records that you provide. At that point, the burden of proof will fall on the employer. They will need to prove that you didn’t work the hours that you documented and that they did not pay you for all those hours.
Be sure to maintain evidence and documentation to support your claim, so you can recover compensation for your damages and hold your employer responsible for the damages you suffered.
How An Employment Attorney Can Help Your Claim
If you have not been paid for all the hours that you worked, or if your employer didn’t properly document the hours that you have worked, you should enlist the help of an employment law attorney. With the help of a lawyer, you can file a complaint with the proper agencies and then pursue a claim against your employer to recover compensation for your lost wages and any other damages that you may have suffered because your employer didn’t keep track of your time.
Employment law attorneys understand the laws that protect you – both on the federal and state level. Your attorney will know the best way to proceed with a wage theft case and will hold your employer accountable for your damages. Employment law attorneys handle their fees in different ways, so be sure to ask your lawyer about when they expect payment. Complete the Free Case Evaluation Form to get your claim on the right track today.
