As per The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the United States Department of Labour, if the employer refuses to pay what the employee has rightfully earned, the employee has every right to sue them for the unpaid wages. This also holds ground for workers who quit their jobs or were fired and haven’t been remunerated for their last days of employment. If one has worked before discontinuing with his employment, he has earned his salary and deserves to see it!
Wage Theft by employers is costing U.S. workers billions of dollars a year
The Fair Labour Standards Act or FLSA has established strict and
irrefutable standards for employers. It states that employees must be
tendered minimum wage per hour of their working time in conformity with
overtime regulations and current minimum wage law; failing which, the
employee will have power to pursue an unpaid wage claim. The Fair Labour
Standards Act or FLSA also lays down a strict policy where the
employers are required to pay one and half times the employee’s regular
hourly wage for all his overtime hours. In such cases where the employer
fails to pay the overtime wages, the employee may be at liberty to
receive compensation through a wage and hour claim.
Unpaid wages attorney- Defending defrauded workers across the U.S.
The two ways of pursuing wage and hour claims are:
• The first way is presented under the Fair Labour Standards Act which is the enforcement arm of the Wage and Hour Division. It handles claims on behalf of employees throughout the U.S.
• The second alternative
is by filing a private claim through an Employment Attorney who has a
varied experience with complex litigation and trail law.
Only an experienced Employment Attorney can establish the valuation
of the employee’s unpaid wage claim; which may consist of the wage he
owes, unpaid overtime, interest, penalties and other damages.
Extensive wage theft in the United States is a huge problem for struggling workers. Surveys reveal that the underpayment of unsettled wages can reduce affected workers’ earnings by 50 percent or more. Some of the common legal issues in the workplace are mentioned below.
• Workplace sexual harassment: In the US, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids employment biasness on the basis of race, sex and colour; national origin or religion. At the outset, this act was only intended to tackle workplace sexual harassment against women. However, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 covers the prevention of sex discrimination for both females and males.
• Unlawful termination/demotion: A situation where the employee is unlawfully terminated or demoted to a position beneath his dignity.
• Workplace violence: All employees are entitled to a peaceful work environment. In a situation where violence may occur, the employee must file for legal help to get the justice he deserves.
• Pregnancy discrimination: A situation where a pregnant female employee is put in such an ambience where she is forced to quit her job or denied basic comfort during her working hours or looked down upon by colleagues.
• Disability or Age discrimination: A situation where a person with disability is discriminated against or an employee is differentiated on account of age in the midst of fellow colleagues.
• Meal and rest break claims: Time and again it has been brought under notice that employees have been denied their basic rights of proper meal and rest breaks.
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