Birmingham Wage Theft Attorneys
Wage theft occurs when an employer fails to pay minimum wage or overtime owed to its employees. By law, this money is owned by the employee, so when an employer decides to keep these wages, it is wage theft. Some companies steal millions of dollars each year through this illegal practice.
If you live around Birmingham and you think your employer may owe you unpaid minimum wage or overtime, a dedicated employment lawyer at Employment and Commerce Law Group may be able to help you recover the wages you are owed and any other monies to which you may be entitled. Read on to learn more about how a skilled employment attorney could offer you their assistance today.
What Constitutes Wage Theft?
The following scenarios include examples of wage theft:
- Not paying overtime wages
- Not meeting minimum wage requirement
- Not paying an employee for all hours worked
- Not paying the proper rate for overtime
- Making illegal deductions from your paycheck
Know that individuals who have experienced these situations can be represented by a professional Birmingham wage theft lawyer in a court or settlement proceeding.
Minimum Wage Issues
Employers are required to pay employees at least minimum wage. Given that Alabama has no minimum wage law, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour applies in Birmingham. In addition, if an employee works for tips in Birmingham, their employer can pay them an hourly wage less than $7.25, so long as their hourly wage plus tips is equal to at least $7.25 an hour.
Many times, employers make deductions from an employee’s paycheck which result in them being paid less than minimum wage for each hour. In addition, some employers engage in pay schemes involving bonuses or a commission system which results in employees receiving less than minimum wage. These pay schemes are often illegal and can be considered a form of wage theft. Employees who have not received proper payment in this way should retain representation from a weathered Birmingham wage theft lawyer as soon as possible.
Unpaid Overtime Wages
Failing to pay employee overtime is the most common form of wage theft by Birmingham employers. Employees in the state of Alabama are entitled to be paid overtime wages for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per working week. The overtime rate must be at least one and a half times the employee’s regular rate of pay. There are many regulations the Department of Labor looks at when determining an employee’s regular rate of pay.
Nonexempt employees are entitled to time and a half wages for all overtime hours. For example, a Birmingham employee who is usually paid $12 an hour should be paid $18 an hour for all hours over 40 worked in a week. Some salaried Birmingham employees are also owed overtime, but calculating the rate one may be owed as a salaried employee can be complicated given the law in this area. For this reason, individuals speak with an experienced Birmingham wage theft attorney to determine how much they are truly owed.
Filing a Lawsuit with a Birmingham Wage Theft Attorney
If your employer fails to pay you wages you are entitled to, or has refused to pay you at all, you may have a claim for wage theft. An experienced wage theft attorney can help you file an administrative complaint with the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, file a lawsuit, or both.
If you are in Birmingham, call a dedicated wage theft lawyer today for your confidential consultation to discuss the specifics of your case. We have recovered millions of dollars for employees for illegal wage theft, and are ready to offer you our assistance.
