Wage Theft & Wage and Hour Violations
Wage and Hour Violations and Theft
The law has lagged behind the needs of employees with respect to wage and hour laws. Minimum wage laws have not been updated to reflect the realities facing employees in many jobs. Overtime laws were actually passed to ensure that employers hire more workers rather than ensuring employees fair wages and they contain a broad assortment of exemptions. Neither federal nor North Carolina law requires employers to provide breaks or cap an employee’s work day at any number of hours.
Still, many employers flagrantly violate even the most basic of laws that do exist. Employers often classify their employees as independent contractors in order to avoid these laws altogether. Others claim that an obscure exemption applies and refuse to pay their employees their earned overtime under the guise that an employee is a supervisor, a commissioned sales person, or a high-level administrator when they are really anything but. Still other employers require employees to perform work off the clock in order to artificially reduce their hours worked and avoid the requirement to pay overtime. Many restaurants illegally force servers to share their tips with back-of-the-house employees.
We have held such employers responsible and obtained fair compensation for our clients when these employers push the envelope in applying the law’s exemptions too broadly. If you believe you have been the victim of wage theft or any other wage and hour violation, you should reach out for a consultation today.
For more information on these different types of retaliation visit our pages below:
Reach out for a consultation today.
