Are You Not Being Paid For The Hours You Work?

Under state and federal law, your paycheck must include pay for every minute you work. Unless you fall into a set of narrow exemptions, you are also entitled to time-and-a-half pay for all overtime hours. Sometimes employers make mistakes or intentionally miscalculate wage compensation employees should receive for the work they have performed. Far too frequently, employees simply accept their employers’ statements as to “what the law is” when they are being deprived of full and fair wages for their labor, whether straight time or overtime. If you are concerned that your paycheck does not fairly pay you for your work time or you have been deprived of overtime pay, come to the wage and hour lawyers of NachtLaw, P.C., in Michigan and Ohio. Our attorneys provide a perspective of experience for clients pursuing wage and hour, and overtime claims against their employers. Contact us today to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced wage and hour lawyers.

Effectively Handling All Wage And Hour Claims

Wage and hour claims may involve a variety of common mistakes that employers make when determining straight pay and overtime pay for their employee paychecks. Our employment lawyers have seen it all in overtime violations, including situations where:

• Employers wrongly and illegally misclassify employees as exempt employees or as independent contractors to avoid paying legally required overtime — just being “salaried” does not mean you are exempt.
• Employers pay normal hourly wages for overtime work over 40 hours, rather than the legally required time-and-a-half.
• Employers require employees to perform work outside of their on-the-clock hours, either requiring employees to do preparatory work before punching the clock or requiring them to punch out but continue working.
• Employers require tip-pooling or tip-sharing, and require employees to share the proceeds of tips with exempt management positions.

We Offer Skilled Representation For Wage And Hour Class Actions

A class action claim regarding wage and hour violations is brought by an entire group of employees, rather than just one employee.

The employees who bring the suit are known as the “class representatives,” and they file a lawsuit on behalf of themselves and any others who are similarly situated. This allows workers with like claims to consolidate their cases into a single legal action. This can ultimately be more efficient, more powerful and more cost-effective than pursuing individual lawsuits.

Common wage and hour violations that may lead to class action claims include:

• Failure to pay overtime: Employers may misclassify employees as exempt from overtime pay or fail to compensate them for overtime hours worked for other reasons even though they work more than 40 hours in a week.
• Minimum wage violations: This could involve paying employees less than the minimum wage rate or engaging in other practices that illegally decrease the employees’ wages.
• Off-the-clock work: Employers may require or allow employees to work off-the-clock without compensation, such as before or after their scheduled shifts, during meal breaks or during their evenings at home.
• Meal and rest break violations: Employers may deny employees their legally mandated meal and rest breaks or fail to compensate them for missed breaks or “working” breaks.
• Misclassification of employees: Employers may misclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid paying minimum wage, overtime or other benefits.
• Illegal deductions: Employers sometimes make unlawful deductions for uniforms, tools or other business expenses, or they fail to reimburse employees for work-related expenses such as mileage or travel costs.

If the class action is successful, the court may order the employer to pay damages to the affected employees, which can include unpaid wages, interest, penalties and attorney fees. Additionally, the court may require the employer to change its policies or practices to comply with labor laws in the future.

When an employer broadly violates the Fair Labor Standards Act and tramples the rights of multiple workers, our attorneys know what steps to take to initiate class action litigation.

Let Us Review Your Case

Determining whether or not you have a valid wage and hour claim requires an in-depth analysis of your individual circumstances, timekeeping records, and paycheck and overtime hours. Come to our offices to speak with one of our experienced employment law attorneys. We will take the time to listen to your concerns, and we will explain your rights and options. Our lawyers work hard to get you the pay you are entitled to receive. We don’t shrink from the fight. We start with a demand. If the employer doesn’t respond with full backpay and double damages, we are fully prepared to take action in state or federal court to get you paid every penny in unpaid wages or overtime pay to which you are legally entitled. Contact us today at 866-965-2488 or online to schedule a confidential consultation.