Wage and Hour Attorney Highlight Employees regarding – Wage and Hour Rights

According to the federal rules, employees who are not exempted under FSLA are entitled to get a minimum wage, overtime well as rest, and meal breaks for a certain period during their working hours. Sadly, however, countless employers are out there who assume different tricky practices with the intention to pay less to employees than what they deserve. Aside from misclassification of full-time workers as contractual employees or as officials exempted from minimum wage right or by wrong calculation of hours worked, they dispose of poor laborers of earning their legitimate. Wherever you have confusion, consult the same with learned wage and hour attorneys in Los Angeles to protect your legal right. For a clear understanding, continue reading the article.  

The standard minimum wage rule

If you’re are a non-exempted employee and working for an employer covered under the FLSA, you have the right to get the minimum wage @$7.25p/hour for the number of hours you have worked. However, since the minimum wage rule of different states differentiates, before joining such an employer, make sure about the prevailing wage and hour rules for your knowledge and avoid unwanted trickery.

For young laborers under aging 20, an employer under FSLA needs to pay a minimum wage of $4.25 per hour to the employee. It’s worth noting that this is a standard rule and applicable only for the first 90 days or 3 months from the date of joining of the worker and henceforth, the worker becomes entitled to get the minimum wage standard as formulated by FLSA. If it happens otherwise, consult a veteran wage and hour attorney in Los Angeles to protect your right.

What happens – if you earn tips?

Well, if you earn tips and are confused about what should be lower minimum wage under FSLA, note carefully that your employer is supposed to pay $2.13 an hour—provided you earn a minimum of $30 per month in the form of tips. And secondly, if the wage and tips total equates to the minimum wage standard (as stated for each hour worked). However, otherwise, if you earn less than the minimum wage (after adding wages and tips), your employer should be liable to meet the balance payment so that it becomes $7.25 an hour).

What happens – if the state's minimum wage is higher than FLSA?

It is worth noting that the minimum wage rule of many states is higher than the FLSA standard. This makes workers often confused if the employer will be paying them as per state or FLSA rate. Under such circumstances, make a note that your employer is supposed to pay you the highest applicable minimum wage, no matter whether it comes under FSLA, state, or local wage rule. So if your state's minimum wage is higher than the federal standard ($7.25), you will be entitled to get the higher (as per the state rule) and not the FSLA minimum.

Hours worked

Irrespective of employers are under the Federal or State Labor laws, manipulating working hours has been common practice with an intent to pay less to workers. The ‘hours worked’ needs to be calculated to pay employees their legitimate earning that they are worthy of.

•    Training period

If your employer needs you participating in a job-oriented training program – the hours that you spend for the training must be paid sticking to the minimum wage rule.

•    Breaks and meals

By and large, workers who are permitted to get a break for having their meals 20 minutes or less than that - are required to pay for the recess time according to the per hour rate. Although, if the break time is longer - it is not mandatory for an employer to abide by the same.