As a fast food employee, when you show up for work each day you clock in and do your job with the understanding that you will be paid in a fair and timely manner. It is the expectation of every worker to be compensated for work that has been performed.
In some cases, natural disasters or human error might lead to errors with payment, but unfortunately there are situations when employers make intentional choices to not pay their employees. This is wage theft.
Wage theft is a term that covers any instance where an employee is not paid for the work performed, including not paying minimum wage, not providing a final paycheck when an employee leaves a job, not paying an employee for the total number of hours worked, not compensating an employee for overtime and not paying an employee at all.
Employees are protected against wage theft at the federal, state and local levels.
When you show up for work there is an expectation that you will be paid, and if you are not being paid then you might have a wage theft claim.
Payday Requirements for Fast Food Employees
Each state has its own payday laws, and when it comes to how often an employee needs to be paid it will vary by state. Generally speaking, there are four categories of possible paydays: Weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly and monthly.
Though employers are able to establish their own terms, within the scope of state laws, they cannot create their own rules that benefit them and hurt workers.
For example, in California workers can be paid weekly, bi-weekly, or semi-monthly, and that means an employer cannot decide to pay employees every two months.
A state like Delaware only requires monthly paydays, so an employer can decide to pay bi-weekly but not bi-monthly.
If you are a fast food employee and you are not being paid for the work you have done, then you might have a wage theft claim.
What To Do If You Have Not Been Paid As A Fast Food Employee
If you have not been paid for the work you have completed, then these are steps to take to determine the nature of the problem and the best possible course of action.
Start with a conversation with your company. Let your boss or supervisor know that you have not been paid, and follow up with Human Resources as well.
In many cases you will need to call the district Human Resources office, but you might need to call the corporate office depending on the response you get.
If you were not paid as the result of human error, such as having the wrong direct deposit information on file or a clerical error that impacted your payment, then your employer should take care of it immediately.
If you notice that your employer is not responding to your request to fix the problem, then there could be a bigger issue at play. Blatantly deciding not to provide payment to employees is a big problem and definitely falls under wage theft.
You have two options: Filing a claim against the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), or filing a private lawsuit against your employer.
Get Help With Your Claim
If you have tried everything and are still not getting results, you can either file a claim with the WHD or you can file a private lawsuit against your employer.
The benefit to filing a private lawsuit is that you can recoup your lost wages and any other damages that may have been incurred, including legal fees and compensation for emotional distress. In many cases you can receive a free evaluation from an employment lawyer to help you decide how to proceed.
You might be wary of hiring an employment lawyer because of the cost, but the benefit is that you can meet with an employment lawyer for a free consultation and from there determine your best course of action.
Many employment lawyers will work on a contingency basis, only taking payment if you win your case.
While there is no guarantee that you will win your case because you are working with an employment attorney, the chances for a favorable outcome greatly increase when you have an experienced advocate working on your behalf.
You also have the peace of mind that comes from not having to do this on your own.
Complete a free case evaluation form to find out how working with an employment lawyer could help you with your claim.
