CORRECT LYRICS

Lyrics : What steps should employees take if employers fail to pay overtime wages?

How does it feel when employers don’t pay their employees despite putting relentless efforts in their job duties? Working for 8 or more hours a day is hectic but it’s quite frustrating when employees don’t get pay for that. It’s a law in California that the non-exempt employees have to be given minimum wages, overtime wages, and wages of accrued vacation by their employers. If the employers fail to pay the due wages on time, they can be sued by the employees.

However, workers should consult with overtime attorneys for legal advice. In this context, it’s important to know the steps that the employees can take if their employers refuse to pay overtime wages.
First of all, employees can resign from the job without any notice and then take a legal action against the employer. If employees are wondering that how do I write my two weeks notice need to understand that in wage and hour violations, no employee is bound to give any notice! Besides this, there’s no compulsion in California to submit an advanced notice of two weeks. This is because employment in California works on an at-will basis.

California has stringent protection laws directed for employment protection. One such law is the protection of the employee from employer retaliation due to filing of a lawsuit against them.

What is the overtime wage violation?
Before proceeding with the other steps, one should know what overtime wage violation means in California. The maximum time of work is 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week in California. If an employee is made to work for more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week; the employer should pay for that. Failure to pay overtime wages is a violation of the California Wage and Hour Laws. Employees should seek professional help for overtime wage violation in:

•Overtime violations
•Misclassification of employees as independent contractors
•Incorrect breaks
•Denial of paying commissions
•Miscalculation of wages

However, an exempt employee cannot make any claims or file a lawsuit because the California law doesn’t entitle them to minimum wages or overtime wages. Exempt employees are salaried persons and they are the ones involved in executive, administrative and managerial tasks. So if employees are denied overtime wages, they can file a lawsuit against the employer.

Miscalculation of wages/Commissions:
At times, employers often miscalculate wages. If a worker feels that the wages have been miscalculated should seek professional help from an attorney. They can calculate the wages and commissions and will be able to tell if it is correct to file a lawsuit. They can suggest alternative options to sort out the matter with the employers- for example, front to front discussion with the employer. However, if none of the solutions work, then filing a lawsuit would be the last resort.

Missed meal and rest breaks
Every company should offer meal and rest breaks to the employees. Under the California and federal laws, all the non-exempt employees are entitled to uninterrupted rest and meal breaks. However, if the employer makes the employee work even during the break periods, then it will be considered as a violation of the labor laws.
It’s important for the workers to seek professional help from attorneys if they’ve been denied the overtime wages.