If your employer is not paying the wage you agreed upon when hired, you may be victim to wage theft. If this has happened to you, you may be able to file a claim to recover your lost wages as well as other damages.
Wage theft is illegal under both federal law as well as many state laws. Your employer may not be able to pay you lower than the agreed-upon amount.
What is Wage Theft?
Wage theft is when an employer doesn’t pay you the full amount you are owed for your labor. There are a lot of different types of wage theft, but all types of wage theft are illegal. If your employer doesn’t pay you the full amount you should be paid they are violating the law.
Wage theft can look like an employer not paying you overtime for all time over 40 hours in a week that you have worked. It can also look like:
- An employer taking your tips or forcing you to pool and share tips.
- An employer deducting money from your paycheck for meals, uniforms, or lodgings.
- An employer requiring employees to come in 15 minutes or 30 minutes before a shift but not paying them until the shift starts. Or, forcing them to stay after their shift to finish up counting a drawer or doing other work and not paying them for that time.
- Not paying employees for time spent driving to and from a job site.
- Requiring employees to work through a break or an unpaid lunch but not paying them for that time.
If your employer isn’t paying you the full amount that you agreed to work for then you’re a victim of wage theft. Wage theft is against the law and you can file a complaint with the EEOC and your state labor board if you are a victim.
To file a complaint for wage theft with the EEOC you will need to go to the EEOC’s website and download a complaint form. Fill out the form and submit it along with evidence that you were not paid the right amount.
What to Look For
In order to find suspected wage theft, it will be up to you to monitor your paychecks. In your paycheck, you should be able to find itemized lists where you can see what is being deducted from your pay. This includes things like taxes or insurance. You should also find your hourly wage. Here, you may be able to find any discrepancies.
What to Do
If you suspect wage theft because you are not being paid you're agreed-upon amount, you will need to begin gathering evidence. You should keep a copy of your contact or employment agreement to use for reference. If you check your paycheck and it does not match your agreed pay, then you will need to make copies of your pay stub.
Speak with your HR department or manager about the pay change. It may be a mistake and an easy fix. If you find that the problem is not resolved, you may want to move forward with filing a claim.
You may want to find help when filing a claim. An employment law attorney may be able to assist you with navigating the claims process. Complete the Free Case Evaluation to get in touch with a lawyer who takes cases in your area today.
Here is more information about what to do when you are not paid the agreed-upon amount for a particular job:
