Wage Theft in the News Again

I think that Howard may have been a little mistaken. The only laws that would allow Melissa to get double her unpaid wages would be either the Florida Minimum Wage Act or the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under either law, Melissa would only be able to recover double the minimum wages owed to her. She would, however, be entitled to recover the remainder of her wages above minimum wages under a claim for unpaid wages. Each of these laws would allow Melissa to also recover her attorneys’ fees and costs.Without knowing more, I cannot say for sure that the Fair Labor Standards Act or Florida Minimum Wage Act would apply, but either law could help Melissa out if it applied.

And yes, the Miami-Dade Count Ordinance would allow for Melissa to recover three times her unpaid wages, but does not allow her to recover attorneys’ fees. Melissa’s benefit of using the Florida Minimum Wage Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, or the Miami-Dade County Ordinance would be that Melissa could then hold the owner personally liable, instead of trying to get her money from what likely is an empty company.

My firm, FairLaw Firm is located in Miami and handles unpaid wage cases and is familiar with issues like these. Feel free to call me at (305) 400-4903 or browse my website for more information fairlawattorney.com.