Wages and benefits are perhaps one of the most important things to all employees. This is why it is important for employees to know and understand their rights, especially when it comes to wages. Here are the 3 most common wage violations that occur in the workplace: 1. Wage Theft- No matter if it’s regular pay or overtime, when […]
While there are several reasons why employees find themselves encountering wage and hour mistakes during their employment, the most often cause is due to employee misclassifications. Examples Of Employee Misclassifications Misclassifications can happen when an employer inaccurately classifies a worker as an independent contractor, rather than an employee. In this cases, the employees fail to […]
Workplace violations are becoming more more common. However, there are many people out there that are unaware of their rights as employees and may not be aware that they are a victim of such violations. Here are the most common workplace violations and what you should know in order to protect your rights. Overtime Theft– Non-exempt employees […]
Many people confuse or do not fully understand how overtime pay works, often making who is and who is not eligible to receive overtime pay the biggest confusion of them all. And, since overtime laws are set by the U.S. Department of Labor, requiring that employees meet a certain set of requirements to qualify, it is critical that employees understand where […]
Wage theft is a common workplace issue that is increasingly becoming a problem for employees all over the country. Wage theft may occur when an employee does not receive all of their wages or any wages at all. Recognizing Wage Theft Not paying employees correctly maybe a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA establishes a Federal […]
On October 19, 2016, we posted a blog about the Chicago Minimum Wage law which became effective July 1, 2015, with an hourly wage of $10.00, increased to $10.50 July 1, 2016, and continues to increase incrementally each year into the future. The Chicago law also imposes very substantial penalties on employers who violate it, […]
Yesterday, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance requiring employers to provide employees (within the City of Chicago) one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours of work. The accrual is capped at five sick days in a 12-month period. The ordinance is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2017 and will affect virtually […]
The three White Collar Exemptions are by far the most common asserted by employers to avoid paying overtime. If an employer wants the apply the exemption to any employee, it must show that it pays the employee paid a minimum salary, and that the employee meets the particular duties test. The most common duties tests are as follows: […]
A group of workers in Birmingham Alabama have challenged a new state law which prohibits local governments, specifically the City of Birmingham, from raising their minimum wages. Birmingham sought to raise its minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by next year in an effort to fight income inequality. Birmingham is about 74% African-American. Plaintiffs assert that […]
In this case, a contract Human Resources firm (you would think they would get this stuff right) believed that by raising its employees salaries high enough it exempted them from the FLSA and its overtime provisions. The result of this misreading of the law was a $1 million dollar settlement to pay back wages to […]