The income that employees earn is something that should never be at risk of theft, yet wage theft accounts for one of the largest categories of theft each year. In fact, the Department of Labor was able to recover more than $3 billion in income that was stolen between 2017 and 2020. While not all theft is intentional, anyone can suffer from it. Here are five examples of wage theft that you can look out for:
Unpaid overtime
Non-salaried workers are entitled to overtime pay for any time they work over the standard 40 hours. If you work more than 40 hours a week, make sure the excess hours are receiving overtime pay.
No breaks
No matter how busy it may be at work, employees still deserve meal and rest breaks if they are working long enough. Failing to get a break at work may entitle the employee to additional pay for the missed rest.
Taking lost income from your pay
If a customer steals from your employer, that does not mean that the employer can get away with taking that loss out of your paycheck. Company losses like that are the company’s liability, not the employees.
Working “off the clock”
Doing one more task on your way out the door may not seem like a problem, but if you are already clocked out for the day, it can be a major issue. Those instances of free work can add up and cost an employee a considerable amount of money over time.
Not paying for non-service hours
When tipped employees begin doing too much un-tipped labor, they need to receive un-tipped pay for that work. For example, if a server spends three hours washing dishes, they cannot receive the tipped pay that is below minimum wage for that kind of work.
Is there wage theft in your workplace
If you suspect that you are suffering from wage theft, contact an employment law attorney. As either an employer or an employee, a skilled lawyer can help you identify these wage violations and take corrective action to put a stop to them.