What Is a Wage and Hour Claim?

Overview of Wage and Hour Claims

A wage and hour claim is a lawsuit that disputes an employer’s compensation for their employee, or the hours that an employee is required to work. Statistics show that in recent years, wage and hour lawsuits have become the most common form of employment lawsuit filed. Wage and hour claims are also known as wage and salary claims.

Filling a wage and hour claim is one way that a worker can hold an employer accountable for complying with employment law. Additionally, filing a wage and hour claim can help an employee possibly receive compensation for wages lost due to improper wage and hour policies enacted by their employer.

What kind of lawsuits are filed that relate to wage and hour law?

There are lots of ways an employer can violate fair compensation laws, and any one of them could be the basis for a wage and hour claim. In many cases, a lawsuit filed against an employer will incorporate multiple wage and hour claims.

Issues under dispute in wage and hour claims can include:

• improper calculation of overtime pay and hours
• failure to provide vacation and medical leave
• failure to provide maternity leave
• wrongful termination
• insufficient or unpaid rest breaks
• insufficient or unpaid meal breaks
• minimum wage violations
• failure to reimburse for work-related expenses
• misclassifications of an employee as exempt versus non-exempt
• classifications of a worker as an employee or a contractor
• withholding of wages
• work performed off the clock
• discrepancies between job title and actual duties performed
• unpaid training, meetings, or lectures

Ministry Advantage notes that in some cases, an employer may shortchange an employee by only a few dollars, and an employee may not notice the problem. However, if this is done over and over again to more and more employees, this can have a large impact on workers’ wages.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the Wage and Hour Division recovered a record-breaking $304 million in wages owed to workers in 2018, and a total $1.3 billion in back wages over the last five years, demonstrating the effects of not paying workers the pay they are due.

A number of common practices may violate the law, including not paying overtime on time but promising to “make it up” on the next paycheck. Even not being clear on what a worker’s duties are can lead to discrepancies between title and work performed and by extension, a dispute about whether or not a worker’s compensation is appropriate for the work they perform.

Even if an employer violates the law unintentionally, they may still be able to be held accountable. 

Settlements

Settlements or a successful verdict in a wage and hour claim can have a number of positive outcomes, including compensation for employees and improvement in employer’s policies and practices. In some cases, authorities may investigate a company’s record-keeping and polices.

In the case of a settlement, an employer does not have to admit wrongdoing, but may agree to settle and provide some compensation to avoid the costs and risks of continuing litigation.

How lawyers can help?

A wage and hour lawyer can help a worker file a wage and hour claim. As mentioned above, many wage and hour claims actually involve multiple kinds of claims, and a lawyer can help determine what issues are at stake. A lawyer can also help gather the necessary documentation to help prove a case. Lawyers can help affected workers build the strongest case possible to help defend them and seek the compensation they may deserve.