How do employees determine whether they have a potential unpaid wages case? There are few things in life that are more stressful than the feeling that comes from an employer illegally withholding your wages. We see this often, and employees most likely need legal assistance to recover the wages they have lawfully earned.
What is an Unpaid Wages Lawsuit?
We should start by defining “unpaid wages.” Unpaid wages are wages including bonuses, reimbursements, and employees benefits, that the employer legally owes its employees, but which the employer has failed to pay. It’s also a type of theft, which makes it eligible for recovery via a lawsuit in court.
Below are just some of the common forms of unpaid wages that may necessitate litigation:
- Failure to pay overtime wages (“time and a half”).
- Failure to pay employees for work completed “off the clock.”
- Failure to pay according to federal and state minimum wage laws.
- Not compensating an employee for out-of-pocket business expenses.
- Failure to pay for all time worked due to “clerical errors” or not effectively reviewing payroll or any other convenient excuse the employer offers for wage non-payment.
- Misclassification of jobs as salaried, “exempt” instead of an hourly paid job, including the loose use of job titles like assistant manager, team leader, personal banker, loan officer, which the employer uses to lower your total compensation.
Why Does This Happen So Often?
Have you noticed that you’re not alone with this kind of problem? Perhaps other coworkers have shared this experience, or you’ve even had it happen to you at other companies. It’s a more common problem these days with employers trying to avoid paying overtime wages or purposefully misclassifying employees as management in order to work around wage laws and save money by not paying all wages due.
How Do You File an Unpaid Wages Lawsuit?
You generally must contact an employment lawyer to pursue an unpaid wages lawsuit. You should connect with an employment attorney who is experienced in these types of cases. An employment attorney will assess your case, explain the potential case risks and benefits, and discuss with you how the case will proceed. Employees can legally recover all unpaid wages, and can often recover additional monies including liquidated damages, penalties, interest, and attorney’s fees and costs. Again, your employment attorney can discuss with you the potential recovery in your case.
Contact Us for a Free Case Review
Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC focuses its practice on wage claims. If you want to file a lawsuit, you should first consult with us so that we can determine whether you have a case and, if so, whether it makes sense to pursue it.
Again, contact us at Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC for a free case assessment of your unpaid wages claim.