Workers deserve the pay they have earned from a hard day’s work. When they do not receive the wages they have earned for the hours they have worked, wage and hour laws protect them. Workers need to be familiar with employment laws that provide protections including wage and hour laws.
Wage and hour protections
Wage and hour laws provide important protection for hard-working employees including:
- When employers are not paying the appropriate minimum wage;
- Not paying overtime pay workers are due;
- Requiring workers to work of-the-clock and not paying them for those hours of work;
- Improperly classifying exempt employees;
- Deducting too much for tips; and
- Deducting for wages paid in goods such as for meals or food.
Examples of wage and hour violations can include improperly classifying workers as contractors or paying hourly workers a salary. It can also include requiring a worker to clock out but continue to work. Workers must be paid the appropriate minimum wage, as well as overtime pay. Employers cannot pay less than the federal minimum wage, however, because states set their own minimum wage laws and requirements, the minimum wage can be higher than the federal minimum wage which is considered the minimum.
How the FLSA protects you
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) protects workers against these types of wage and hour violations and ensures they receive the compensation they have earned for the work they have performed. It is essential for workers to be familiar with these protections and to ensure their rights are not violated when it comes to their compensation.