Pay Claims and Wage Claims
You spend a lot of time at your job and work hard for your pay. You deserve the wages, overtime, commissions, bonuses, and other compensation you have earned.
Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC reviews pay claims for workers who believe an employer has failed to pay them correctly. These claims can involve unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, misclassification, unlawful deductions, withheld commissions or bonuses, pay reductions, and related wage-and-hour issues.
What A Pay Claim Can Cover
A pay claim may involve one missed paycheck, a repeated payroll practice, or a company policy that affects many workers. Common wage claims include:
- Unpaid or underpaid overtime;
- Off-the-clock work before or after a shift;
- Work performed during unpaid meal periods or breaks;
- Improper classification as exempt from overtime;
- Misclassification as an independent contractor;
- Unauthorized or improper deductions from pay;
- Withheld commissions, bonuses, or incentive pay;
- Pay reductions that may violate wage rules or agreements; and
- Interest or penalties that may apply to unpaid wages.
Unpaid Overtime And Off-The-Clock Work
Unless you are properly classified as exempt, your employer generally must pay overtime wages for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The overtime rate is usually at least one and one-half times your regular hourly rate.
Your employer cannot avoid overtime law by creating a no-overtime policy, averaging hours across multiple weeks, asking employees not to report overtime, or requiring work before clocking in or after clocking out. If you performed work, the time may still matter even if it happened by email, phone, text, app, or another system away from the time clock.
Misclassification And Independent Contractors
Misclassification is one of the most common ways workers lose overtime and other pay protections. A job title, salary label, contract, or “independent contractor” label does not decide the issue by itself.
For exempt-worker classification, what you actually do each day matters more than the title on your position. For independent contractor classification, the analysis may consider who controls the work, how the worker is paid, whether the relationship looks like regular employment, and other facts.
If you were called a contractor but worked like an employee, review our guide to wage claims for independent contractors.
Pay Reductions, Deductions, Commissions, And Interest
Pay disputes are not limited to hourly overtime. A wage claim may also involve earned compensation that was reduced, deducted, delayed, or withheld.
Workers often have questions about whether an employer can lower pay, deduct money from wages, fail to pay commissions, or delay earned bonuses. Depending on the facts, these issues may overlap with unpaid wage laws, written agreements, commission plans, or final-paycheck rules.
Related wage resources:
- Can an employer legally reduce your pay?
- Interest on unpaid wages: how is it calculated?
- What to do if your employer withholds earned bonuses and commissions
Worker Groups With Specific Wage Issues
Some pay claims need a role-specific review because the job, pay plan, or industry practice affects how wage laws apply.
RM Legal’s wage resources include:
- Wage claims for mortgage employees, including loan officers and other mortgage workers who may have overtime or commission issues;
- Wage claims for nursing home and healthcare employees, including missed meal breaks, off-the-clock work, and overtime concerns; and
- Wage claims for independent contractors when the contractor label may not match the real working relationship.
How To Protect A Pay Claim
If you think your employer did not pay you correctly, gather the records you can safely access. Helpful records may include pay stubs, time records, schedules, emails, texts, commission plans, employment agreements, handbooks, and notes showing when you worked.
Do not take documents you are not allowed to access, and do not guess about facts you do not know. A wage lawyer can help evaluate what information matters.
Pay Claims FAQ
What is a pay claim?
A pay claim is a claim that an employer failed to pay wages or other earned compensation correctly. It can involve hourly wages, overtime, commissions, bonuses, deductions, final pay, or related wage-and-hour issues.
Can I bring a pay claim for unpaid overtime?
Possibly. If you worked more than 40 hours in a workweek and were not properly treated as exempt, unpaid overtime may be part of a wage claim.
What if my employer calls me an independent contractor?
The label is not always the final answer. If the company controlled your work and treated you like an employee, you may have wage rights even if you were called a contractor.
Can deductions, pay reductions, or unpaid commissions be wage claims?
They can be. The answer depends on the facts, the pay agreement, the timing of the work, and the wage laws that apply.
What should I gather before contacting a lawyer?
Useful records may include pay stubs, schedules, time records, emails, texts, commission or bonus plans, handbooks, and notes about the unpaid work or missing compensation.
Talk With A Wage Lawyer About Your Pay
You should contact RM Legal if you believe your employer violated the law in paying you. The first step is to explain what happened, what pay is missing, and what records are available.