Unfortunately, wage theft in Nevada commonly takes place and is typically intentional on the part of the employer. It costs workers millions of dollars annually.
The commonest types of wage theft are not paying the minimum wage which is $8.25 per hour without health benefits and $7.25 per hour with health benefits.
Also, failing to pay overtime which should be paid at one and a half times the normal pay after working 40 hours in any one week. In addition, sometimes employers don’t pay workers for preparation time but according to the Fair Labor Standards Act they are required to pay for all time spent in the workplace.
Other examples of wage theft are not paying for overtime and in some cases trying to pay in kind, not cash.
If you believe that your employer has not properly paid you, then you should file a wage theft claim so that you can try and get back the money owed to you.
If you are not comfortable filing your own complaint, or you want to go straight to court, talk to an experienced wage and hour lawyer about working on your behalf to help reclaim the wage theft owed to you..
How to Report Wage Theft
The Office of the Labor Commissioner administers Nevada's wage-and-hour laws. If you wish to file a wage theft complaint under Nevada's wage-and-hour laws, it is important that you approach your employer first to try to resolve the wage theft matter.
If that fails, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Labor Commissioner through the completion of a Claim for Wages form.
Once you have completed it you should either hand it in at in at a Labor Commission office or send it through the mail. In order to be certain the Office of the Labor Commissioner will consider your complaint, you should provide as much evidence as you can to prove the wage theft took place.
The evidence should include the following:
- pay check stubs;
- work time records;
- the names, addresses and contact details of your managers and supervisors in your workplace;
- names and contact details of witnesses such as co-workers who are prepared to testify for you.
What You Need to Know Before You File a Wage Theft Claim?
If you are filing a complaint with the Office of the Labor Commissioner there is no time limit but if you have experienced wage theft and you wish to take your employer to court and claim the difference between what you employer should have paid you and the minimum wage you have 2 years to file the claim from the date the wage theft took place.
The most common reasons for filing a wage and hour claim in Nevada include:
- the employer misclassifying a worker as "exempt" or as an independent contractor
- the employer forces a worker to work through lunch and rest breaks
- the employer failing to pay a worker for overtime or for working unpaid out of normal work time.
After reviewing the wage theft claim the Labor Commissioner can make a binding decision which demands the employer to pay the worker the unpaid wages owed.
If the worker decides to sue his/her employer, the court may award not only the amount of the wages theft backdated to when it began but also attorneys' fees and in some cases punitive damages may be awarded as well.
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Additional Resources
- How To Sue A Trucking Company For Not Paying You
- How To Report a Wage Theft Case
- Free Wage Theft Case Evaluation
- Employment Discrimination in Nevada
