Wage Theft: An Unpaid Wages Lawsuit
An employee who is not paid by his or her employer is legally owed unpaid wages. Generally, the word ‘unpaid’ refers only to underpaid wage from an employer. However, under federal law, an individual who renders personal service to another entity or individual is also entitled to reasonable compensation.
In cases when employees are not paid the minimum wages or if they are employed in businesses that fail to pay their workers, filing a suit can be a wise move.
There are different levels of cases. A case filed by employees for minor financial loss is known as a complaint. These complaints include: failing to pay overtime; not being paid minimum wages and other such things. Other cases which are quite common include sexual harassment and discrimination.
Most employers employ a large number of employees. These employees comprise of cooks, cleaning staff, baby sitting and many other such positions. It is true that most employers employ qualified individuals for these positions. Still, over a period of time, a percentage of these employees may fail to meet their obligations and this is when an employee can start a lawsuit for unpaid wages.
Such lawsuits are filed by employees at the work place or by any individual who has been injured at the place of work.
It may also involve employees having to pay for medical treatment received at the place of work or any other injuries received on the premises of the employer. In most cases, if the employer has failed to pay their employees, they have to shoulder the entire cost. If you are an injured employee, it is better if you do not allow the matter to fall apart.
To avoid an unpaid wages lawsuit, you should ensure that you have understood your working conditions. Check whether you are paid for all the hours you have worked and also inquire about any other terms and conditions of the employment. You should also ask the employer whether they have offered any other kind of benefit such as breaks, lunch breaks, rest breaks, etc. If there are any other terms and conditions of employment, then you should know about them and ensure that these are mentioned in your contract.
Many employees face the problem of overtime lawsuit settlement. In such cases, the employee who has filed for an overtime claim gets paid only after the company satisfies all the legal formalities
However, many employers ignore these requirements. These employees may continue to receive low-paying jobs and this will result in further losses to the company. The bottom line is that both the employees and the employer stand to lose a lot if the employer does not follow proper procedures and fails to pay their employees for their services.
Unpaid wages claim is very common among temps and part-time workers.
Most of the employers are not bothered about this kind of case, as most of the employees come from the underdeveloped countries and are unable to demand higher wages. The reason for this is that such workers have low skills and are less qualified. However, these employees have an option to file for an overtime lawsuit and can seek maximum compensation for their efforts. The employees should approach the employer with the help of an efficient labor lawyer who will guide them throughout the process.
You can contact an experienced attorney for helping you out with your unpaid wages case.
If your employer refuses to acknowledge their responsibility or ignore the case, the lawyer will file a case against them for committing wage theft. If the employers have not yet implemented any kind of policy for ensuring that workers get paid for their services, then they are definitely on a path to becoming a victim of wage theft.
An employee who is not paid by his or her employer is legally owed unpaid wages. Generally, the word ‘unpaid’ refers only to underpaid wage from an employer. However, under federal law, an individual who renders personal service to another entity or individual is also entitled to reasonable compensation. In cases when employees are not…