If you work at a grocery store and you have not been paid, you might wonder what the next steps are. When you show up for work you have an expectation to receive compensation for the work you have completed and there are few things worse than expecting a paycheck only to find out that it isn’t there.
There are a number of reasons you might not have received a paycheck. It could be human error, your timecard could have been misplaced or some other clerical mistake prevented you from getting paid.
On the other hand, your employer might be trying to cheat the system by not providing proper payment to employees. If that’s the case, then it could be a case of wage theft.
Wage theft happens every day in businesses and workplaces all over the country.
Examples of wage theft include not being paid for overtime, not being paid for the total hours worked, not being paid minimum wage, not receiving a final paycheck after leaving a job and, lastly, not being paid at all.
If you have not been paid for your work as a grocery store employee you could have a wage theft claim.
Payday Requirements for Grocery Store Employees
Each state has different laws for how employees should be paid. The four most common types of paydays are weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly.
A state could have one or more of these guidelines in place, leaving it up to the employer to choose which one best fits their company.
For example, California mandates that workers be paid either weekly, bi-weekly or semi-monthly, whereas Connecticut only requires weekly paydays.
That means that companies have the option to select the format that works best for them, so long as they meet the state’s guidelines.
An employer cannot, however, pay you outside of the state guidelines, so there is no bi-monthly payment option, for example, or anything else that doesn’t meet one of the four payday schedules.
The type of payday is usually determined by the kind of work that is being done, and grocery store workers are frequently paid on a bi-weekly schedule.
If your employer is not following state payday requirements, then you could also have a wage theft claim for not abiding by state payday rules.
What To Do If You Have Not Been Paid As A Grocery Store Employee
If you have not received payment for your work as a grocery store employee, then you should speak with your manager to see if there was some kind of delay in processing timecards.
Though this is not acceptable, it helps to have an understanding of whether you were the only one impacted or if it is a company-wide issue.
If it is a company wide issue, such as a delay caused by a natural disaster, then you should find out what happened and when you can expect payment. If you are not paid within a reasonable amount of time, then you could file a wage theft claim.
Barring clerical errors or natural disasters, if you have not been paid then you should speak with your company’s Human Resources department.
They should be able to provide assistance. However, if you do not get a response, or if, after reporting the problem, you see no action being taken, then you should consider filing a wage theft claim.
Get A Free Evaluation
If you have talked with your manager and your company’s Human Resources department and you are still not being paid for your work, then you have the basis to file a wage theft claim against your employer.
To file the claim, you need to contact the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Your other option would be to file a private lawsuit.
Either option can be intimidating. It is a good idea to meet with an employment lawyer for a free case evaluation to determine what your next steps should be based on the facts of your case.
An experienced employment attorney will be able to help you get the biggest settlement possible, including lost wages, legal fees and possible compensation for emotional distress.
Though hiring an employment attorney to handle your case does not guarantee that you will win your case, it will greatly improve the chances of a favorable outcome.
Most employment attorneys will work on a contingency basis, not requiring payment upfront and only accepting payment if you win your case.
For more information about how an employment attorney could help you with your case, fill out a free case evaluation.
