The FLSA (Fair Labor Standard Act) safeguards employees and their rights. Every person has a right to fair wages. Employers should not be able to abuse or take advantage of their employees’ unfamiliarity with the law. Here are situations where an employer may be violating the FLSA.
The employer did not pay for overtime
Employees must only be working 40 hours a week. If they work more than that, their employers must compensate them fairly for the overtime. The overtime rate should not be less than one and one-half times your regular rate.
The employer did not pay for work hours
If an employer requires you to work through lunch breaks to expedite the process, they should treat them as work hours. They should be paying you for all the time you spend working.
The employer takes advantage of your tips
Your tips are your property. An employer cannot deduct your salary from your tips, and they have no right to take any part of it for themselves or other employees.
The employer gives you comp time instead of overtime pay
If you worked over 40 hours in one week, your employer cannot give you compensatory time off as payment. Let us say you worked two extra hours this week, and instead of paying you the mandatory overtime rate for those extra hours, they make you work only 38 hours next week. That is illegal.
The employer refuses to pay overtime because there is no record
The FLSA law requires employers to keep a detailed record of the amount of time their employees work in a day. The employees carry no such burden of proof. If your employer refuses to compensate you because they believe you did not work certain hours, they must prove with solid evidence that you did not.
Employment allows you to provide for your family and yourself. It should not be fraudulent, nor should it be a medium of manipulation. Your time is money, and every hour counts.