While there are many reasons to accept a position, most employees rely on their income to pay the bills. Ensuring that pay checks are timely received is imperative. Moreover, employees expect to be paid the correct amount, especially when overtime and bonuses are calculated. When this does not occur, employees have rights to recover any portion of their wage they did not receive.
Suing you employer for underpayment
Employers are required under federal and Florida law to pay employees for the time they work. Additionally, employees need to be paid the correct amount.
It is a violation of these federal laws when an employee is not paid for all time worked or is shortchanged when it comes to the correct wage for time worked.
When an employee is not paid what they are owed is called wage theft. In this situation, an employee has the right to file an action or even sue their employer when and if this occurs.
Steps employees can take
If an employee believes wage theft occurred, they can initiate a claim through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The WHD will investigate and if it decides it is, the department will submit a legal order requiring the employer to pay the employee what they are owed.
If this does not remedy the situation, an employee always has the option to suing their employer in small claims court or in the local court.
It should be noted that one’s ability to file a claim or suit for missing wages is dependent on several factors. These include whether the employee is exempt or paid hourly, whether they make the federal or state minimum wage, whether they are an independent contractor, there is a class-action suit against the employer and more
As an employee, you may feel obligated to go with whatever your employer says or does, but doing so could mean a violation of your employee rights. If you are going through a wage dispute with your employer, it is important to understand that you have rights and legal options when it comes to asserting your rights and resolving the matter.