Wage and hour laws protect the employee’s rights regarding compensation. The laws ensure employees are paid for the hours they work. They ensure workers earn minimum wage or more. These laws ensure employees receive overtime pay for overtime hours worked. They ensure employers do not take unauthorized money away from employee compensation.
The top labor lawyers can help you when your employer violates wage and hour laws. They will ensure you get the compensation you deserve no matter the labor law violation. Working with the best wage and hour lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group in New York City, Philadelphia, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New Jersey will ensure you hold your employer accountable for labor law violations.
Wage and hour laws directly affect employee pay, classification, and terms of employment. Some of the points found under wage and hour laws include the following:
Read on to learn more about labor laws and how the Derek Smith Law Group’s top labor lawyers can help you fight for your rights.
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Labor laws insist employees are classified properly. Depending on the classification, workers will receive overtime pay for overtime hours. The classification can also affect whether employers have to pay taxes. Misclassifying employees violates the wage and hour laws.
There are three employee classifications: exempt (salary), non-exempt (hourly), and independent contractors.
Exempt employees are also known as salaried employees. These workers are exempt from overtime pay. They can work any number of hours a week and earn the same salary. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a law affecting wage and hour issues, says salaried employees must meet the following criteria:
Non-exempt employees are also known as hourly employees. These employees are paid for each hour they work. Hourly employees must earn overtime pay for any hours worked over 40 hours a week.
Independent contractors are not employees. Employer’s rules and regulations do not bind them. They can work when they want to work. They provide their own equipment for the job. They earn a contracted rate from their client, otherwise known as an employer. If an employer determines when a contractor works, provides the equipment, or dictates the pay rate, you are an employee, not an independent contractor.
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Employers may misclassify employees to save money, avoid overtime payments, or avoid paying payroll taxes and benefits to workers. Misclassifying employees on purpose or by accident violates wage and hour laws. Therefore, workers who are misclassified are also the victims of wage theft. They deserve to be compensated for the money their employer stole from them. Working with the best wage and hour lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group can help them get the justice they deserve.
Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay. According to the law, employees should receive overtime pay for any hours worked over 40 a week. Employers must calculate overtime pay each week, not each pay period. Employers must pay employees one and a half times their regular hourly pay for overtime.
Wage and hour laws dictate the minimum wage for employees. Under federal laws, employees working in non-tipped positions must earn at least $7.25 per hour. State wage and hour laws may insist workers earn a higher minimum wage. Unless an employee works in a federal position, the state’s minimum wage will be the standard for minimum wage.
Tipped employees earn a different minimum wage from non-tipped employees with a tip credit. The minimum wage for tipped employees (such as restaurant industry servers and bartenders) is $2.13. With tips, these workers must earn at least $7.25 per hour. Therefore, employers can receive a tip credit of $5.12 per hour as long as employees earn it in their tips. However, if employee tips plus their tipped minimum wage does not equal $7.25 per hour, employers must pay the difference to their employees.
Wage and hour laws set minimum age requirements for employees. Minors under age 14 cannot work in any industry. Children aged 14 are eligible to work in non-agricultural positions with parental permission. Minors aged 16 are eligible to work in non-hazardous positions with parental permission and limited hours. Most employment restrictions are lifted once a minor becomes an adult at age 18.
Certain payroll deductions are allowed under wage and hour laws. Employers can deduct employee taxes, benefit premiums, and legal deductions authorized by employees, such as child support and alimony. However, employers may not deduct any other funds from an employee’s paycheck. They may not deduct monies for lost or broken items, uniforms, or any other fees that each employee has not authorized in advance.
The FLSA requires employers to keep meticulous payroll records for each employee. These records must be kept for two years before being destroyed. Records must include all employee information (name, address, social security number, etc.), pay rates, scheduled pay periods (weekly, hourly, daily, etc.), paycheck issue dates, and paycheck pay weeks.
Employers ignoring the recordkeeping rules in the FLSA are violating wage and hour laws. One of the top labor lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group can help you hold your employer accountable for these violations.
Employers cannot deny an employee their proper pay. They cannot insist employees work off the clock. They cannot make an employee work during an unpaid break. Employers must pay their employees for any time in which they are under the employer’s control.
Employers cannot insist employees conduct any workplace duties off the clock. For instance, they cannot insist employees run errands for the company while clocked out of work. They cannot insist employees don or doff safety equipment before or after they clock in. Any time the employee is doing any work required by their employer, it is compensable time. Therefore, employees must get paid for this time.
The wage and hour laws require employees to be allowed breaks throughout their day. Employees may be entitled to 15, 30, or even 60-minute breaks depending on the number of hours worked. The laws do not demand these breaks be paid. However, an employer cannot insist an employee continue to work if a break is unpaid. Any time off the clock (even for a break) is the employee’s personal time.
Employee layoffs are inevitable. Businesses close for many reasons. However, the WARN Act requires employers to follow specific rules when conducting workforce layoffs in large companies. If more than 50 employees are to be laid off from a company with at least 100 employees working over 30 hours a week, employees must receive advanced warning of the layoff. If employers do not provide the proper warning before the layoff takes effect, they violate wage and hour laws. The best labor lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group can help you get the compensation and justice you deserve.
Employees have the right to work in an environment that respects the labor laws. When an employer breaks those laws, employees have the right to demand justice. As the victim of workplace wage and hour violations, you have the right to ask your employer to pay you the money you are owed. If they refuse, you have the right to seek an attorney and file a claim with the Department of Labor or your state court.
When an employer fires you or otherwise punishes you for complaining about wage and hour law violations, they are committing acts of retaliations. Federal and state employment laws prohibit all forms of retaliation against employees, whether it is an act of wrongful termination or creating a hostile work environment. If you face retaliation in the workplace, you have a right to demand justice. Working with a top wage and hour attorney at a wage and hour law firm, such as the Derek Smith Law Group, can help you hold your employer accountable for all illegal acts.
The FLSA sets a time limit of two years (three years if your employer intentionally violated the law) for you to file your wage and hour lawsuit with the Department of Labor. Each state may offer its own statute of limitations to file your labor law claim within the state courts.
A wage and hour lawsuit can take a couple of months to resolve or several years. Working with a top wage and hour attorney can help move your case along. If your employer is willing to settle the claim quickly, your case may be completed within six months or less. However, if your employer wants to continue to fight your claim, your case may take a year or longer before a judgment gets entered or the case settles.
Employers must follow wage and hour laws or face the consequences. If you are a victim of a workplace wage and hour law violation, you deserve justice. The top labor law lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group Can help you file your lawsuit and get the compensation you deserve. Contact us at 800.807.2209 for your free consultation.
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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also t…
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also t…
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also t…
The Fair Labor Standards Act is the driving law behind wage and hour laws. Additional laws include the WARN Act and state labor laws.
All hourly employees making less than $107,432 a year are entitled to overtime pay for any time worked over 40 hours a week.
Wage and hour laws are very specific regarding exempt employee classifications. Secretaries are not specialized workers. Therefore, they should be paid hourly and receive overtime pay.
If you work for a federal government entity, they can pay you the federal minimum wage. However, if you work for a state or public company, you must get paid the state minimum wage.
Your employer cannot make you work if you are not clocked in at work. They cannot make you work during any unpaid break.
Donning and doffing safety equipment required for employment should be a paid activity. Your employer must pay you for the time you put this equipment on and take it off each day you work.
Employers can only withhold legally authorized monies from your paycheck. These funds include taxes, benefit premiums, alimony, child support, and money you request withheld from your pay.
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Wage and hour laws protect employees from getting robbed of the money they worked for. If your employer violated your rights under the labor laws, call the experienced wage and hour lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group. 800.807.2209
Tell us about your situation so we can get started fighting for you. We tailor each case to meet our clients' needs.
