When you clock in at work, you have every reason to expect that you will be paid fairly and accurately for the work you perform. You should also be paid on time, every time.
If your employer isn’t paying you the wages you’re owed, or if you’re not being paid on time, or at all, you might be experiencing wage theft.
If your company’s Human Resources department isn’t willing to help you with your concerns, or if they are telling you outright to not file a wage theft complaint, then you need to learn all you can about wage theft and what you are entitled to do under the law to recoup your losses.
What You Need To Know About Wage Theft
As an employee, there is an expectation that you will receive compensation for the work you do. When you are first hired your wages should be discussed, and you should have a clear understanding about pay dates, your individual pay rate and how overtime is calculated and paid out.
Wage theft includes not paying employees for work done, not paying the correct amount, not paying overtime, not following minimum wage guidelines and not giving employees their final paycheck after an employee leaves a job.
Wage theft is something that happens in workplaces all over the country, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a big corporation or a little mom and pop store.
It doesn’t matter how much money you earn, either, so it can happen to anyone at any time.
Your company’s Human Resources office should be a front line defense for employees who need help, and when you can’t turn to HR then you need to know your rights and how to proceed.
Gathering The Evidence You Need
In order to file a complaint with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) you need to have as much evidence as possible to prove that wage theft has occurred.
You will need to have your personal information (full name, address and phone number), your employer’s information (address, phone number, manager’s name, owner’s name), your job description and your hiring information that outlines your pay rate and the company’s payment policies, and your personal payment information, including pay schedule and whether you receive your pay via check, direct deposit or in cash.
In gathering your evidence, make sure to include any updates to your company’s payment policies, such as a change in payment schedules or how employee payments are calculated. You can print emails, copy memos or submit copies of signs and posted found in the office.
Your employer is required by law to pay you for work done, including your regularly scheduled hours and any overtime you might accumulate.
You are also entitled to receive payment for unused vacation and sick days as stipulated by labor laws.
The WHD will keep your complaint confidential, so you don’t need to worry about retaliation or losing your job.
Learn Your Rights
Your company’s Human Resources office should be a place where employees can address their concerns in a safe space.
However, if your company’s HR department is urging you to not file a wage theft complaint then you need to take matters into your own hands, and thankfully the Wage and Hour Division is there to support you.
The WHD oversees the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal law that protects full-time and part-time workers with regards to receiving minimum wage, overtime eligibility, accurate payment records and child labor law.
If you work 40 hours per week as a normal condition of your job, then you would be considered overtime-eligible and would receive protection under the FLSA.
The FLSA stipulates that if you work more than 40 hours in a given week, you are entitled to one and a half times your normal pay rate.
When your employer does not abide by the terms of the FLSA, then you should consider filing a wage theft complaint.
How An Employment Lawyer Can Help
If your HR department is telling you not to pursue a wage theft complaint but you know that a violation has occurred, you should consider hiring an employment attorney who can help guide you through the process of filing a wage theft complaint.
You will need to gather a great deal of evidence to support your claim, and while working with an employment lawyer does not guarantee that you will win your case, it can greatly increase the chances of success.
Fill out a free evaluation form to learn more about hiring an employment lawyer to help with your wage theft complaint.
