Wage theft covers a variety of infractions that occur when workers don’t receive the wages that they are contractually promised or legally entitled to receive.
There are some more common kinds of wage theft, such as non-payment of overtime, not paying the employee for all the hours that he or she worked or failing to give the employee his or her last earned paycheck.
There are billions of dollars in wages stolen every year, and according to some reports it is as much as all other kinds of theft combined.
You have the responsibility to pay attention to your paychecks and your timesheets to make sure that you are fairly compensated for your losses. You may have to enlist the help of an employment law attorney.
What Happens After Filing A Wage Theft Claim?
If you believe you have been subjected to wage theft, you will need to file a claim. You should provide supporting evidence with your claim to show that you were shorted your hard-earned pay.
First, you should figure out exactly what you are owed. That means that you should check the time limit for pursuing a claim and make sure that you haven’t waited too long to recover compensation. You will then need to determine how far back you can recover lost wages.
After you have determined the timeframe in which you can file your claim for stolen wages, you will need to fill out a calendar and add up the hours that you worked.
Add up all hours – even those you were paid for. You should do this to the best of your ability, although totals could be slightly off if you haven’t properly kept copies of timecards.
Let the person you file your complaint with know that you believe that is accurate according to your memory, but if you had maintained records and copies of timesheets you should let them know that you had hard evidence and that you can confirm it is 100 percent accurate.
After you have determined the hours that you worked, determine how much you should have been paid. Take your hourly rate and multiply it, then be sure to properly add in overtime.
If there isn’t an agreement regarding what you should be paid for an hour of work, then you should use the minimum wage rate.
After you have your total wages, then subtract the amount of wages that you have received. That will give you the total of wages that you are claiming as having been stolen from you.
You may be asked to submit a worksheet that shows how you calculated the amount of the wages that you are claiming as having been stolen.
You should complete any worksheets accurately, and your attorney can fill them out for you. This calculation is different than calculations for payroll deductions, commissions, bonuses, reimbursements, and other wage claims that are not directly associated with the hours that you have worked.
What Can Help Speed Up The Process
You will want the process to go smoothly and efficiently. To do this, you will need to show that the supporting evidence to show that you weren’t paid for all the hours that you worked.
You will need to prove that you were not fairly compensated for all your time, or that you didn’t receive overtime when you were entitled to receive it.
While some states have laws that pertain to the hours worked during a day, federal law says you are to be paid 1.5 times your regular wages for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.
Paystubs, timesheets, and a properly filled out form calculating your lost wages is essential to the success of your claim against your employer for stolen wages.
If you have all the supporting evidence together and made readily available, your claim can be proven much more easily, and you are much more likely to resolve the matter more quickly and efficiently.
Get Help From An Attorney
An employment law attorney is familiar with the state and federal laws that apply to wage theft in your area. With the help of a lawyer, you are much more likely to get your claim on the right track and resolve the matter in your favor.
To share the details with an attorney in your area, complete the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page today. Someone with an employment law firm in your area will review your claim details and determine how to proceed.
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