EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

Unpaid Wages

The basic premise of employment is an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Unfortunately, all too often employees and other workers do not receive an honest day’s pay for their hard work and are paid less than what the law requires. This is sometimes referred to as “wage theft.” Pelton Graham is here to help you and others in your position simply get paid for what you have done.

Close-up of an employee's hand opening envelope with paycheck over wooden desk

Fair Labor Standards Act

The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes a minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards for private, non-profit and government employees. It protects the majority of US workers. Workers who are classified as “contractors” may also be protected by this federal law as well as state laws.

Examples of unpaid wages:

Failure to pay minimum wage
Failure to pay overtime
Classifying employees as “managers” to avoid paying overtime
Short payment on last check
Failure to pay commissions
Check bounced/company went bankrupt
Early arrival required but clock in later
Deduction for meal time and breaks not taken
Paying “comp time” instead of overtime
No pay for attending mandatory events like training, meetings, etc.

We specialize in the following types of Unpaid Wages:

Unpaid Minimum Wage

Unpaid Overtime

Unpaid Prevailing Wage

Unpaid Tips and Tip Pooling

Unpaid Commissions and Bonuses

Class Action Lawsuit

Unfair and illegal pay practices often apply to a group of employees. In these cases, a class action lawsuit may be appropriate to enforce employees’ rights. Like consumer class actions, employment class actions seek relief for a large number of individuals damaged by the same actions.