A Guide To Claiming Unpaid Wages

• Author: Jessica Williams
• Posted: 2024-04-11

The Labor Department’s “Wage and Hour Division” (WHD) deals with ensuring the “Fair Labor Standards Act” (FLSA) is enforced. Typically, employers who are found to be guilty of wage violations are required to pay the difference of what has been paid and what ought to have been paid. This difference is called “back pay”. The WHD orders back wages against the backdrop of FLSA violations. The following web page discusses the different wage violations and what measures you can take towards claiming unpaid wages.

Minimum Wage Violations

Employees should be paid an hourly minimum wage. The minimum wage according to federal law has been set at $7.25. Many states have a higher minimum. As an employee you should receive the highest minimum wage offered in your state.

An employer that pays their workers less than the minimum wage is breaking the law. Employers who pay their workers more than the minimum wage but make deductions on their employees pay below a reasonable amount are also breaking the law.

Hourly Violations

When an employer fails to pay their employees for the hours worked, they are violating the law. Employers usually violate this law by failing to count certain times as working hours. These overlooked sessions include:

· Time that employees work off the clock
· Rest or meal break sessions that employees work through
· Required classes and training programs
· Travel and waiting time that the employee needs to spend on their employer’s premises

Failing to Pay Employees During the Requisite Paydays

There are no set time limits for paying employees under the FLSA; however, some states have fixed dates when employers are supposed to pay their workers. In some states, employees should be paid twice every month or once after two weeks. Some state also set the dates within which employees should be paid. For example, in California, employees should be paid on the 26th for wages worked for between 1st and 15th, and on the 10th for wages worked for between 16th and the end of the month. Some states have laws setting date limits for paying final checks.

Failing to Pay Vacation Time

Although employers are not required to pay for their employees’ vacation, when an employer offers this benefit, it is enforced by state law. Some states consider accrued vacation as compensation owed to an employee. This means an employer cannot take away vacation after it has accrued but is required to pay for unused accrued vacation time. In these states, employers are allowed to cap how much vacation one can accrue.

Paycheck Deductions and Tips

State laws vary on what an employer may ask their employee to pay for. In some states, employers are allowed to charge their employees for tools while in others this is not allowed. In some states, employees are allowed to charge their employees for uniforms while others allow employees to bear this cost if the uniform can also serve as street wear. In some states, employees are not allowed to impose uniform charges.

States also differ on circumstances under which employers can withhold money from their employee’s paycheck for paying back a debt that their employees owe them, for example, advance deductions.

State laws also have different opinions on tips. Generally, employees are entitled to tips and employers should not share in the tips. Some states do not allow employers to deduct tips from an employee’s wage. In these states which include California among many others, employers are required to pay their employees the minimum hourly rate on top of their tips.

How to Recover Unpaid Wages

According to FLSA, some of the methods for recovering overtime, minimum wages and any back wages are as follows:

· Through the assistance of WHD
· The Secretary of Labor can help you file a claim for unpaid wages and liquidated damages
· You can opt to file a private claim against your employer for unpaid wages and an equivalent amount for liquidated damages, and also payment for court costs and attorney’s fees
· The Secretary of Labor can help you file an injunction restraining your employer from breaching the provisions of FLSA that include unlawfully withholding overtime pay and minimum wage

Many employers violate their employees’ rights by withholding certain wages from them. If there are unpaid wages that your employer has withheld from you, the best ways to reclaim your wages is either through filing a complaint with WHD or hiring an attorney.