Unpaid Wages / Unpaid Overtime / Minimum Wages
Employees have the right to be paid for the work they perform. If you have earned wages that have not been paid, your employer is likely in violation of the law, and you can file an action to recover the wages owed, interest since the time the wages became due, attorney fees, and additional penalties. Amazingly, many employers still refuse to pay their employees.
Unpaid wages
Most employees earn money based on a salary, hourly wages, commission, or some combination of each. Regardless of how they are determined, if earned wages are not paid, the employee has a right to recover the wages. Under Utah law, if you hire an attorney to help recover those wages, you may be entitled to recover attorney fees as well. For this reason, we are often willing to accept your case where you pay us nothing unless we win. If you have unpaid wages of $5,000 or more, please contact us so we can discuss your options.
Unpaid Overtime
Under federal law, “non-exempt” employees who work more than 40 hours per week must be paid overtime wages of at least one-and-a-half times the employee’s normal wages. Overtime wages must be paid on the earliest applicable pay check, not in a lump sum at the end of the year. Employees who are wrongfully denied overtime pay can recover: (1) the time-and-a-half wages they are owed; (2) an additional award equal to the amount owed; (3) reasonable attorney fees for recovering the unpaid wages; and (4) all court costs.
Overtime is all work in excess of 40 hours per week. Non-exempt employees who work 20 hours one week and 50 hours the next are typically entitled to 10 hours of overtime. The definition of work is broad, often including activities such as being on-call, attending training courses, traveling between jobs, dressing in special clothing, checking equipment in or out, performing non-billable work and other activities that benefits the employer. Employers cannot avoid paying employees by forcing them to do activities before or after a normal work shift.
An employer cannot avoid paying overtime just because they pay employees a salary or commission basis. The important question is not how the employee is paid, but whether the employee is “exempt” or “non-exempt.”
Most employees are “non-exempt” and have a right to receive overtime pay. Some employees are “exempt,” such as Professional Employees (lawyers, doctors, architects, CPAs, etc.); Executive Employees (CEOs, CFOs, etc.); and Administrative Employees (upper management with substantial management duties and discretion of how to operate business). Also, employees in certain industries are exempt; these industries include computer professionals, outside sales persons, farmers, etc.
If you believe you have worked any overtime hours for which you have not been paid, please contact us so we can discuss your options.
Failure to pay minimum wages
Under state and federal law, employees are entitled to receive a minimum hourly wage of at least $5.15 per hour. Minors (under 18) can be paid $4.25 during the first 90 days of employment.
Employing minors
No employer can require a minors under the age of 16 to work more than 8 hours in any 24-hour period, or 4 hours on any school day. Minors under 18 cannot work in certain occupations, including:
• Mining
• Roofing
• Meat processing
• Wrecking and demolition
• Operation of power-driven baking or paper product machines;
• Operation of power-driven, metal forming, punching and shearing machines.
• Operation of power-driven woodworking machines.
• Operation of circular saws, band saws and guillotine shears. |
