Employers may use tactics to save a buck or two. Unfortunately, some of these tactics may be illegal. Employers may try to steal wages from their workers and this can seriously harm employees.
Employees have the right to fair pay. To help ensure that you’re not a victim of wage theft, you may need to learn how employees steal from their workers:
1. No overtime pay
Many employees have to put in overtime work to meet deadlines. When employees work overtime, they have a right to one and one-half of their typical wage. Employers may not pay their employees overtime page as a form of wage theft.
2. Not paying all hours worked
In much the same ways as avoiding overtime pay, employers may not pay for all the hours an employee worked. Employers may have employees work longer than their schedule to finish tasks. But, the employer will only pay the employee for the hours they were scheduled.
3. Misclassification
One common way employees avoid paying employees is by misclassifying workers as contracted. Employers may make contracts for workers that greatly harm workers. For example, employers could limit how much workers are paid as contractors or not pay workers for their job. Another problem with misclassification is that workers may not get the benefits of full-time work, such as overtime pay, workers’ compensation benefits or other employee rights.
4. Illegal deductions
Employers may try to withhold employee wages as deductions. This could happen, for example, because an employee needed a work uniform and the employers deduct wages to pay for it. Or, an employer might fail to reimburse an employee for business expenses, hoping that will go unnoticed.
If you believe you’re a victim of wage theft, you may need to learn your legal options to fight for your right to fair pay.