Employees are entitled to compensation for all hours they have worked. This includes all the regular hours and any overtime you have worked. There are several factors that determine how much your wage claim may be worth if your employer has withheld wages and you are considering legal action for an unpaid wage claim.

There can be other factors to consider when making a claim. It is important you know the factors involved and have as much documentation as you can before you proceed with a claim.

Before Starting a Claim

You need to determine a few things before you start making a claim for unpaid wages.

Is your employer stable?

If your employer is in trouble financially, the employer may claim bankruptcy before any employees can make a claim. The employer may also not be able to pay wage claims if the employer has no money but does not declare bankruptcy. It will be very difficult to recover any wage money from the employer if it is in bad shape financially so it may not make sense to file a wage claim.

Will It Cost More Than Your Entitlement?

If you are making a claim for wages and hiring a lawyer, you should consider whether your wage claim is for worth hiring a lawyer and pursuing. Your claim often will be sufficient. Also, you can likely join your wage claim with the wage claims of other employees which will help your recovery and help your employer to take these claims more seriously.

Make Viable Claims

You want to assert your best wage claims. You often cannot recover for such things as emotional distress and inconvenience no matter how badly your employer failed to pay you and other employees.

Claims for Unpaid Wages

There are many things that will be a factor in your claim for unpaid wages.

Wages Owed

You are owed for all the hours you worked at the wage you were promised and were working at during the time in question. You will need to show you worked these hours and were not paid for them. Your attorney will assist you in doing this. If the employer fails to keep accurate records of your work time, then your memory of the time you worked will be fine to establish your work hours.

Unpaid Overtime

Your employer must pay you for all overtime. It is vital best if you keep a record of all the extra hours you worked. However, you do not need records of overtime worked to file a wage claim. Again, your employment attorney will help you establish your overtime hours worked and the correct pay for these hours.

Unauthorized Deductions

Your employer may try taking deductions from your pay for things they claim you owe. Some examples of this include uniforms, cash register shortages, and overpayments. These types of wage deductions are often illegal

The easiest way to establish these illegal deductions is through your paychecks. Employees often lose access to their paychecks on the internet immediately when they leave their jobs. Thus, you should download your paychecks to your computer or print them out before you leave your job if you can.

Severance Packages and Other Pay

You may be entitled to additional wages when you leave a job. These additional wages may include severance and vacation pay. Employers will try to get out of paying you these wages. You should contact an employment attorney if your employer refuses to pay you your last paycheck or additional wage to which you are entitled.

Get Expert Advice

You should contact an employment lawyer if you have any questions or concerns about how your employer paid you.

Contact Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC to make sure you are getting the best advice and legal representation for your wage claims. We have the experience, resources, and track record to help you get the pay you earn. We are in the business of winning.