Unpaid Salaries FAQs

My employer is not paying for my overtime. What should I do?

Eligible employees working over 40 hours per week should get 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for any extra hours. In order to determine if you are eligible for overtime pay you can meet with one of our attorneys specializing in employment law at Gallardo Law Firm. If state and federal employment laws that regulate overtime are enforced, you could be entitled to certain protections under the law. The Population Division of the Department of Labor is responsible for enforcing laws that regulate overtime pay. In addition, some states have their own overtime law. If for any reason you are not protected under federal law, then you need to contact the state agency responsible for wage and hour violations.

My employer has not given me a paycheck for the hours I have worked. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is keep track of your hours and any expenses that are a result of not receiving your check. The next step would be to speak to your employer to find out why this is happening. This way you can determine if this was just the result of a processing or banking error, or if it is the case that your employer has no intention of paying for the hours you worked. Many times employers and banks will cover any incidental expenses you had as a result of the delay. Each state has different employment laws that regulate wages and hours and which require the employers to pay you at regular intervals, usually weekly or biweekly. When an employer violates these laws they can be sanctioned and this could even result in criminal proceedings. In the case that you are not covered by federal employment law you should contact a lawyer who specializes in this type of law immediately. They will know how to proceed with your case and explain all your rights. The Federal law that states that you will be paid at least minimum wage for all hours worked is imposed by the United States Department of Labor. However, this law will not protect you when you receive at least the minimum wage for the hours you worked, even if you did not get paid as agreed. In case your state does not have any specific law on this kind of situation, your best option is to consult with an attorney who specializes in employment law. You may want to take action against your employer in a small claims court depending on the amount you are owed for your work.

My employer does not pay me minimum wage. What should I do?

The federal minimum wage is $ 7.25 per hour. All remaining states have a minimum that is higher than the federal; Florida is one of these states. If you find yourself in this situation where your employer is not complying with the minimum wage, you should contact the agency in your state which handles wage and hour violations of labor rules or consult a lawyer who specializes in these types of cases to determine whether taking legal action is necessary.

I was missing $ 15.00 from the cash register; will my employer deduct this amount from my paycheck?

Depending on what type of work you do, the answer could be no. Federal law requires that if an employer is to deduct any missing cash from your wages, the discount must be such that it cannot make your salary fall below the minimum wage or in any way reduce compensation for your overtime hours. For example, in the case of an employee who is subject to the legal minimum wage of $ 7.25 an hour and is paid an hourly wage of $ 5.15, the employer cannot make any deductions from wages of the employee to replace the missing box register. However, if the employee earns more than minimum wage, so that deducting the missing amount does not affect the minimum wage, the employer is entitled to deduct the missing cash from your paycheck.

My employer will not pay the promised bonus. What should I do?

The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not require your employer to pay for any bonuses; therefore you do not have any rights under this law. However, that does not mean you are unprotected; you may have a contractual right to receive your earned bonus. If you have contractual rights and had a clear agreement with your employer about bonuses, then you can write a letter notifying that you have not been paid for your agreed bonuses. If your employer is still refusing to pay, you can try to claim the bonuses in small claims court if it is a small amount of money or get the help of an employment attorney and start the process in small claims court of your state for higher amounts.

My employer will not pay my earned commissions. What should I do?

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not require the payment of commissions, thus employees cannot assert their right to receive a commission. That does not mean you are totally unprotected, if you did not receive the commission you earned working, you may have a contractual right to receive commissions you earned.

My employer has filed for bankruptcy and has not paid for all my worked hours. What should I do?

Whenever a company goes bankrupt, its employees can claim their earned wages and/or commissions. If your wage claim is for $4,000.00 or less and is for a period of 90 days before the bankruptcy filing, you might be eligible for priority. This means that your claim can be paid before other claims. This would include your salary, any commissions, vacation pay, severance, and sick leave. However, if you are claiming more than $4,000.00 in wages/commissions and are not within the 90 day period, you would not be eligible for a priority claim. If it is the case that you continue to work for the company after it filed bankruptcy, you should check with the bankruptcy court to make sure they have approved wage payments in the amount of your salary. Many times the process will require employers to pay reduced wages or even deny payment to all employees until the final distribution of assets has been completed by the court. If you find yourself in this situation where your employer filed for bankruptcy and you have not received your payments or are worried that you may not receive them in the future, we recommend that you speak to an attorney who specializes in employment law. This process can become very complicated and requires special attention. Also it is important that you receive the legal aid before the required deadlines in order to assert your right to a priority wage claim.

What is wage theft?

Wage theft is when an employer pays less or does not pay any wages to its workers. This usually happens with low income workers.

How do I know if my employer is committing wage theft?

There are certain situations that occur which are clear examples of wage theft including employers who do not pay overtime, who force employees to work outside of their regular working hours, pay employees less than the minimum wage established by law, or make unlawful deductions on the employee's paycheck. There are some questions you should be asking yourself if you believe you may be a wage theft victim, such as:

• Are you working over 40 hours and still do not get paid overtime? Is your employer wrongly classifying you as an independent contractor? Do you get paid less than the minimum even though you do not earn tips?