Wage theft is a real and persistent problem throughout the United States, robbing individuals and their families of fair pay for the work they’ve done. A recent study put this in perspective by assigning a dollar value to this theft: $50 billion per year. And while that number is staggering, it’s probably...
Category: FLSA Violations
Ninth Circuit Rules Computer Boot-Up Time is Compensable
Does the time it takes for a computer to start up count towards your work hours? According to the Ninth Circuit, it does. And while this may not seem like a great amount of time, the minutes required to boot up a computer can add up to significant pay. There may be...
The Dying Practice of Time and a Half
Once considered a staple of the American workforce, time and a half is under constant attack from employers who are determined to find ways around the law. Knowing how time and a half (overtime) pay should work is the responsibility of every employee. But protecting the right to time and a half...
Right to Sue for Late Payment of Wages in California
Paying workers on time in California isn’t just a good business practice; it’s the law. State legislators have long recognized that late payments cause serious financial disruption to a person’s life and essentially amount to wage theft. Workers who are not paid on time can recover monetary penalties...
What to Know About the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
The rights of employees don’t just include being paid a fair and legal wage. Often, issues regarding the misuse of employee data emerge with serious implications for the privacy interests of workers. Illinois is one particular example of where workers are frequently subjected to the improper collection and distribution of their sensitive...
What Is Piece Rate Pay? A Guide For Employees
Piece rate pay is a method of paying employees based on the amount of work they do. Although this method of payment is legal and can be lucrative for employees, there are unfortunately many cases in which employers attempt to use piece rate to skirt overtime wage laws. If your employer uses...
Department of Labor Releases Updated Guidelines for Paying Tipped Employees
There has been much controversy in recent years over the Department of Labor's (DOL) so-called 80/20 rule, under which an employer is required to pay a tipped employee the full minimum wage for non-tip-producing work if the employee performed such work for over 20% of the work week. Employers complained of...
Fake Managers: The Strategic Use of Titles to Avoid Overtime Payments
The overtime laws make a distinction between managers and non-managers. But the threshold set by the government to be considered a manager is fairly low, giving employers the chance to exploit the rules and assign artificial managerial titles to regular workers. This, in turn, allows employers to skirt overtime laws. Unfortunately, employers...
Nearly $10 Million Awarded for Lowe’s Hourly Managers Cheated Out of Compensation for “Off-the-Clock” Work
A common employer tactic is to assign work tasks to employees while they are “off the clock” - that is, to tell workers to perform their job duties either before or after their shifts. Of course, this amounts to nothing more than wage theft by requiring that unpaid work be done. One...
Coffee Baristas Recover $300k for Improper Handling of Tips
An investigation confirmed that Kentucky-based Heine Brothers Coffee was improperly handling tips paid to employees by allowing managers to take a portion of the tips. The incident is noteworthy both in the sum of money paid and the fact that such practices often go on for years, unless...
