Every electrician expects to get paid the wages agreed when a job offer as an electrician is made. As can be seen from the statistics workers lose billions of dollars to wage theft annually. This is because not all employers are honest when paying wages especially when vulnerable workers like refugees, migrant workers and those without full English fluency are employed as electricians. Many workers realize they are not getting the amount expected but are too afraid to take it up with their employer.
When you get your paycheck and you notice that the pay is lower than usual you could be a victim of wage theft. You should not be acceptant of this this but you should find the source of the wage theft so you can retrieve the wages owed to you.
What to Look For to Determine Wage Theft
All paychecks are required to show an itemized list of everything that was deducted from your pay. Here is what to look for:
- When it comes to taxes and insurance your employer can legally deduct these from your wages but the amount should not change much from one pay day to the next.
- In a few states, but not all, the use of an electrician’s uniform, tools of the trade and equipment can be deducted as long as your pay after deductions does not end up below the minimum wage. This deduction should be much the same each payday.
- Lodging and meals can also be deducted as long as this deduction has been agreed beforehand.
There could be a few deductions that you are unable to recognize or the amount being deducted appears more than previous paychecks. These could include deliberately misclassifying you as a contractor not an employee so you could find you are not even being paid the minimum wage or the legally binding overtime rates.
According to the IRS, you are an independent contractor if you are the one who is in control of what and how the electrician’s work is done (i.e. an electrician who is given a contract to install the electrical system for a new apartment development using their own tools.)
Companies who deliberately misclassify an electrician do this so they do not have to pay for health care and worker’s compensation.This can affect your net pay quite substantially but it might be wage theft if your job offer shows you are supposed to be employed as an employee and not an independent contractor. You may find that your employer has deducted more than usual from some of the compulsory deductions. This is not always that easy to identify as it will partly depend on whether you worked the same number of hours each week.
You should check the following on your pay stub to see how you have been a victim of wage theft:
- your net wages after deductions;
- your gross wages before deductions;
- your employer’s precise contact details so that you are sure an error hasn’t been made;
- the total number of hours worked;
- the list of easy to recognize deductions;
- check to make sure your name is on the paystub and not another electricians
- check to see if the last four digits of your social security number and/or employee identification number are correct;
- check the pay period dates.
What to Do When You Are a Victim of Wage Theft
You should never immediately assume the wage theft is deliberate so, first of all you should speak with HR as there is a chance that it could be an honest mistake. If they respond and say it was a mistake make sure they agree to make the changes and issue a refund of the wage theft amount.
Filing a Wage Theft Claim
Your attorney will give you the help you need to file a wage theft claim with the Wages and Hours Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor in your state. On your claim form you must complete the following:
- your full name;
- your present address and contact details;
- the name of your employer;
- the company’s location;
- the contact information for the company;
- the manager’s name and contact details;
- your job description as a delivery driver;
- when and how you were paid.
Speak With an Attorney
An employment law attorney will have expert knowledge in these sorts of cases.Providing nice clear copies of your old pay stubs and any personal records you have kept that include the hours worked may help your attorney to win a successful wage theft claim.They will be able to help you determine what your employer is allowed to take from your paycheck. If your employer has clearly violated the wages and hours laws by illegally deducting money from your wages, then you can file a wage theft claim with your local Wages and Hours division of the Department of Labor.
