Cooks are employed by many facilities, including restaurants, educational institutions, correctional facilities, industries, catering companies, hotels and motels, inns, and much more.
Cooks are usually paid an hourly wage, but some operations may pay cooks a set salary. Every state has laws regarding the frequency of pay for workers, including cooks.
As a cook, you and your family depend on your paycheck. If you are a cook and your employer doesn’t pay you, you may be able to recoup your losses by pursuing a wage theft claim against your employer.
You will need to itemize your damages caused by the lack of your paycheck.
Payday Requirements For Cooks
While there are federal laws to protect employees, states set their own laws regarding the frequency of paychecks.
These determine how often an employee must be paid and how soon payment should be made following a pay period. If you are not paid in a timely manner, you have legitimate grounds to pursue a claim against your employer to recover compensation.
In Arizona, there must be two or more paydays per month, not more than 16 days apart. In Colorado, employees must be paid monthly.
In Delaware, semi-monthly paychecks are required. District of Columbia also requires semi-monthly paychecks. In Hawaii, employees can elect to be paid monthly using a special election procedure, but in general, there is a semi-monthly pay requirement.
Kentucky requires semi-monthly paychecks while in Louisiana, semi-monthly pay frequency applies to businesses with 10 or more workers in mining, manufacturing, boring for oil, and public service while employees in other industries are paid bi-weekly.
If you are a cook and you are not paid on time, even if your pay is just a couple of days late, it could be considered wage theft and your employer is violating state employment laws.
You should maintain supporting evidence and documentation to show that you were not paid as agreed and in a timely manner.
You will need to follow proper procedures and processes to get your wage theft claim underway and recover compensation for your damages.
What To Do If You Haven’t Been Paid As A Cook
If you have not been paid as a cook, you should gather all your supporting evidence and documentation. This will include timecards or time sheets, witness statements, your employment contract, your employee handbook, all memos and documentation, and any paystubs.
You will need to make sure you properly calculate the wages that you are owed, so you can file your complaint against your employer.
Your first step at pursuing a wage theft claim will be to notify your employer. You will file a claim within the company with your manager or supervisor or with human resources.
Keep proof that you filed a claim. You should keep all documentation to detail your employer’s response. If the matter isn’t taken seriously, or quickly resolved, you will need to contact the Labor Board and file a formal complaint there.
The Labor Board will investigate the matter. They will then instruct your employer to pay you what you are owed.
If your employer doesn’t resolve the matter, your final step will be to file a lawsuit against them. When you do that, the court – either a judge or a jury – will determine the outcome of your claim against your employer for wage theft as a cook.
You do have a limited time to pursue a claim, so you should act promptly so you don’t miss out on your opportunity to pursue a wage theft claim against your employer. You should speak with an employment law attorney about the matter.
Get Legal Help
If you haven’t been paid as a cook, you are the victim of wage theft. You should enlist the help of an employment law attorney to help you navigate the wage theft claims process.
With a wage theft claim against your employer, you can recover compensation for your lost earnings and other damages. An attorney has negotiation skills and will investigate the matter, determining your damages and helping you file a strong claim.
Employment law attorneys use different payment programs. Some lawyers will require a retainer to be paid upfront but other attorneys will take wage theft claims on a contingency basis, which means that they will not be paid until you win your claim and are compensated for your damages.
To make sure your claim is filed before time runs out, complete the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page to share details with an employment law attorney in your area.
