Wage Theft
If you think that your employer is committing “Wage Theft,” you are not alone. “Wage Theft” is a rampant problem in this country. It can take many forms, but the bottom line is that you do work and your employer does not pay you for your time or what you are worth. Some forms of wage theft are obvious, others are not. That’s why you should contact the lawyers at The Buenker Law Firm if you believe your employer is engaging in wage theft.
Off the Clock Work
When your employer requires you to work before clocking in or after clocking out, it is referred to as working “off the clock.” This is blatant wage theft. In addition, many employers require their workers to perform certain tasks before they clock in, such as donning safety-related gear or logging into a computer. It is possible that you may deserve compensation for this work. It is worth calling The Buenker Law Firm to find out. Finally, some employers may require employees to clock out and then “finish their job” before letting them go home. This type of wage theft happens frequently in restaurants when the employer makes employees clock out at the end of their shift, but requires them to stay to finish cleaning or other tasks.
Failure to Pay Proper Overtime Pay
This topic is discussed on several other pages on this website and if you are working overtime and not getting paid for it, you should call the Buenker Law Firm. Theft of overtime pay can be obvious, such as paying “straight time” pay for all hours worked instead of paying time and a half pay for hours worked over 40, or actually deducting hours from the hours an employee worked in order to get the time to where the employer wants it. Overtime theft is less obvious when workers are paid on a salary basis, or when they are paid bonuses or commissions in addition to their hourly or salary pay, and the extra pay is not factored into calculating the overtime rate. For more information, click here.
Tip Theft
Tips that customers leave for workers belong to the workers. Period. End of Story. The employer is never allowed to keep tips or to pay any of the tips to managerial workers. If your employer is not paying you all of your tips, you can call the Buenker Law Firm and find out more information on Tip Theft here.
Misclassification as Independent Contractor
Many companies wrongly classify workers who perform the work that the company provides to their customers as independent contractors in order to avoid paying employment taxes and overtime pay. If you believe that your employer has misclassified you as an independent contractor, you can call the Buenker Law Firm or get more information here.
Misclassification as Salaried Employee
Getting paid a salary used to be a badge of honor in the United States. No longer. Now, employers paying a salary can be an attempt to hide an entitlement to overtime and wage theft. If you think that your salary is being used to hide wage theft, give the Buenker Law Firm a call.
