You are entitled to the money you’ve earned while working at your place of employment. When you do not receive the money you’ve earned, it can be considered wage theft. In other words, this involves individuals not receiving the compensation they are entitled to and can come in many forms. To learn more about wage theft and how to protect yourself, read on.
What does wage theft consist of?
Wage theft can come in many different forms. The most common forms consist of:
- Not getting paid for all hours worked
- Not receiving payment for overtime hours worked
- Failure of receiving last paycheck when leaving your job
- Not getting paid minimum federal or state minimum wage
- Not getting paid at all for your work
When you are not receiving the payment that you worked hard for, you are being cheated. Per federal and state laws, you are entitled to compensation for the work you’ve done.
What law protects you from wage theft?
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employee must be paid overtime pay for any time over the 40-hour work week. When over 40 hours are worked in a week, employees are entitled to a rate that is one and one-half times their regular rate of pay.
How can you protect yourself from wage theft?
One option you can pursue if you feel you have not gotten the full payment for your hard work is filing a wage complaint. You can file a complaint with either the state or federal agencies. An alternative to filing a complaint is to file a lawsuit in state or federal court and proceed through the formal process of litigation.
What should your next steps be?
If you feel as though you have been cheated out of the payment you deserve, you should create a case based on evidence. Contact an employment lawyer with help in building your case and guidance on your next steps. The employment & labor lawyers at McDonald & Kloth, LLC can help you with your wage theft issues. Get what you are rightfully entitled to.