Unpaid Wage Issues Discussed On Help Me Howard
Last night, I was watching WSVN 7 for the 10:00 news. The Help Me Howard segment involved a gentleman who had not received a paycheck for seven (7) weeks, meaning that he had accrued unpaid wages for way too long. I think that even though the employer seemed likeable, it still had committed wage theft – whether under Florida law at Chapter 448 of the Florida Statutes, or under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Patrick Frasier (and Howard Finkelstein) talked about the pitfalls of waiting to get paid – and which I had previously discussed blog. While they talked about options of addressing the issue with your employer and with the Department of Labor, they did not really discuss the benefits of talking with an attorney. Oftentimes, a wage attorney will discuss your case and give you a free consultation and then handle your unpaid wage claim on contingency – which means that you only pay attorneys’ fees and costs after you receive a settlement or recover a judgment.
Obviously, the issue of unpaid wages – including unpaid overtime, minimum wages, and regular wages (even salary) are getting more attention these days as people struggle to keep their homes and make ends meet.
The bottom line is that you have options if you do not receive your paycheck timely, if you did not receive a minimum wage on your paycheck, and if you did not receive overtime wages calculated at time and one-half for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek in a paycheck. The key is to exercise your rights in a timely fashion after you have addressed the issue with your employer – and have started looking for another job.
