How much can you earn in restitution for an unpaid wages claim? It’s good to know this before entering a lawsuit so that you can understand and manage your own expectations when you decide to pursue the claim. While it’s expensive to go to court against an employer, you can collect monetary damages if you prevail or settle such as lost wages, liquidated damages, penalties, and attorney’s fees and costs.
Unpaid Wage Claim Basics
First, we should cover what necessitates an unpaid wage claim. This refers to the unlawful circumstances that led to you losing wages that you earned from your job. There are many ways an employer can either intentionally or inadvertently pay you less than what you’ve earned.
These are just a few examples of illegal wage withholdings.
- Unpaid overtime wages
- Paying below the minimum wage
- Asking employees to work off the clock
- Not correcting clerical or accounting errors
- Illegal deductions for things like employee uniforms and supplies
- Unpaid breaks and meal periods when you work during the time
You should contact us if you experience any of these problems and your employer refuses to fix the problem. During our initial consultation, we can give you a ballpark estimate of the value of your case.
Wage Claim Valuation
So, how much can you win? There are three big components that determine this.
- Unpaid Wage Total
You can probably determine this value the easiest, and it’s the most important factor. If you know you’ve lost $2,000 in lost work wages, then that’ll serve as the maximum in lost wages for your case settlement or damages. - Interest in Unpaid Wages
The longer you go without receiving already-earned wages, the longer they accrue interest. We can’t give an exact amount on this because it varies by state, but it can be significant. In some jurisdictions, instead of charging interest on a claim, they’ll assess “liquidated damages,” which are set in advance, according to federal law. Liquidated damages are typically double the unpaid wages. - Penalties & Attorney Fees
Sometimes, workers are hesitant to sue their employer because they can’t afford the attorney fees. This is understandable since most people don’t budget for having to sue an employer. However, when you contact Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC, we’ll help you assess case viability in a free consultation. If we decide to take your case, then you will not pay any attorney’s fees or other costs to pursue your case. We take all cases on contingency which means that we take a percentage of any settlement or court judgment for attorney’s fees and costs. You will not have any pocket costs to pursue your unpaid wages case. We then do not get paid unless you do so we have every reason to pursue your case vigorously. Courts often award attorneys’ fees and costs to successful unpaid wage case employees.
These are the basics of what you can expect to receive if you go to court and win your case, or the case settles.
Other Wage Claim Considerations
There are a few other things to know about collecting lost wages. Clients sometimes ask us, for example, if it’s possible to make a wage claim after quitting their job. The answer is yes as long as you worked at your job and lost wages within three years of your last working day. Your current employment status does not control whether or not you can asset an unpaid wages claim.
You don’t surrender any right to claim unpaid wages once you’ve left your employment. Moreover, you don’t have to file a wage claim yourself. We recommend you contact an employment attorney for a free consultation. You have nothing to lose and it’ll help you determine the viability of your case.
Win Your Unpaid Wage Claim with Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC on Your Side
Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC represents employees nationwide in unpaid wage claims. The firm has settled over $85,000,000 in unpaid wages cases in the last ten years. You’ve heard it before, but it’s important to remember that we don’t get paid unless you do. That motivates us to do everything we can to help you obtain justice for your unpaid wage claims.
You can find out much more about the financial rewards for an unpaid wage claim by contacting Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC today.