Many individuals are wage-and-hour employees. This means that workers get paid an hourly wage rather than a yearly salary. Though this type of payment may seem convenient for getting compensated for time worked, there is also a chance that minimum wage law could be broken. In these cases, many workers may be cheated out of rightfully-earned wages.
Colorado residents may be interested in such a case currently taking place in another state. It was recently reported that a restaurant company owes back wages to 59 employees at one of its chain sites. Apparently, the violations only took place at this one chain, and the company stated that the individual responsible was terminated. The violations pertained to workers being illegally docked pay.
The deductions came in the form of charging servers for their uniforms as well as tipped workers having to share tips with non-tipped workers. As a result, the servers’ pay fell below the federal minimum wage. The company has been ordered to pay over $150,000 in back wages to the employees that were affected. The company was reported as being cooperative with the investigation and have agreed to pay the back wages.
Minimum wage law is in place in order to help ensure that workers are paid a fair compensation. However, as this case shows, there may be actions required of employees that could violate these laws and result in individuals being paid less than minimum wage. If Colorado residents believe that they have been unfairly compensated or been the victims of wage theft, they may wish to look into their legal options.
Source: jacksonville.com, “Jacksonville Beach’s Metro Diner hit with more than $150,000 in federal wage violations“, Drew Dixon, Nov. 17, 2016
