Are you being paid, including overtime, for all hours worked?
If your employer wrongfully denies you wages, commissions, overtime pay, a last pay check, bonuses, or any other compensation to which you are entitled, you may be able to file a wage and hour claim to recover lost wages. In some cases, additional damages may also be sought when the infraction or infractions are proved to be intentional, or a violation of a longstanding illegal employment policy.
In many cases, we may be able recover attorney fees from the defendant or we may be able to represent you on a contingency fee basis, meaning you do not pay a fee unless we are able to secure a recovery for you.
In addition, in some cases we may be able to represent a group of employees who are similarly situated, and being denied compensation which is due.
TO DISCUSS YOUR CASE in a free and completely confidential consultation, please call our office at 423.247.6151, or send us an e-mail now to schedule an appointment.
Are you being cheated by one of these common techniques?
- Working “Off-the-Clock”: Some employers require their employees to do some tasks before clocking in or require employees to clock-out, but keep working. In fact, you may be entitled to compensation if your employer does not REQUIRE you to work “off-the-clock,” but simply ALLOWS you to do so. Check with us if you are not being paid for all hours worked.
- “Working Lunches”: If an employee is required to clock out for lunch but remain working at his or her desk or is not completely free from duties during lunch, the employer must pay the employee for that time.
- Unpaid overtime: Sometimes employers fail to pay workers time and a half when due. Typically, you are entitled to time and a half if you work more than forty hours in a work week.
- Misclassifying Employees: Many employers try to avoid paying overtime by paying a salary to employees who are not LEGALLY exempt from the requirement that they be paid overtime. Executive, administrative and professional employees are exempt from overtime. Employers may give an employee a big title to try to make their employees fit into one of those exemptions, but it is the actual duties the employee performs, not the title, that determine whether an employee must be paid overtime.
- Unpaid Final Paycheck: Some employers terminate their workers and then fail to give them their final paycheck. Usually, employers are required to pay employees their wages, promptly on the regular and customary payday.
- “Take Home Work”: Some employers permit an employee to take work home, but do not include that time in the employee’s time records.
- Pre-approval Requirement: Some employers refuse to pay for overtime work if the employee did not get advanced permission to work overtime. Usually, if you worked it, you are entitled to be paid for it.
- Meetings and Training: Some employers require employees to attend work-related meetings and/or training sessions, but do not pay for those hours. If you are on the job, in most situations, you should be paid.
- After-Hours Phone Calls or Email: Employees may be entitled to overtime pay for responding to phone calls, e-mails, text messages, or other communications while outside of official work time or while they are off-the-clock.
- Independent Contractor Agreements: Another ploy employers may use is to make workers sign independent contractor agreements. The actual working relationship, however, determines whether a worker is an employee. Typically, an independent contractor works for more than one company at a time, provides his or her own tools and equipment and controls his or her own work.
If any of these sound familiar to you, contact us today to discuss your case.