If your employer isn’t paying you fairly, you may be entitled to a wage theft claim. Wage theft is when your employer is not paying you for work that you have completed. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recovered $304 million dollars in back wages and helped more than 1.3 million people who did work that they were not paid for. 

On average the WHD found that the average worker who experienced wage theft was owed $1,150. For the average person, this is a significant amount of money. These figures are shocking, but still only represent the documented wage theft cases, which accounts for only a portion of the total amount of money that the labor force is owed. 

Types of Wage Theft

The most common types of wage theft occur when the employee works hours that exceed the standard workday or week. This could be something small such as working through lunch or something big like working overtime for weeks and only being paid for 40 hours.  The severity of the offense does not matter as long as you can prove you were not getting paid for time that you worked. 

Other types of wage theft include:

• Failure to pay minimum wage. This is especially common in jobs that rely on tips. 
• Employee Misclassification. If you have the responsibilities of a management position, but receive a salary that does not reflect that, this could be a form of wage theft. 
• Illegal Deductions. There are very few deductions that your employer is allowed to make. Make sure that money is not being deducted illegally.
• Full Wage Theft.  A complete failure to pay you for your work. 

How an Employment Legal Attorney Can Help

For a successful wage theft case, you will need to provide evidence. This will include comparing your hours worked to the amount you were paid. This is not always easy because it might require getting your time card from your employer. 

An experience wage theft attorney will know how to talk to your company to get the evidence that you need to prove your case. If you believe you have a valid wage theft claim and would like to learn more about your legal options, please fill out our Free Case Evaluation to have the details of your claim sent to a qualified employment law attorney. 

More Information on Wage Theft:

• Can My Supervisor Retaliate Against Me For Filing a Wage Claim
• Can I Sue For Not Receiving a Severance Package?
• Company Does Not Pay Minimum Wage
• Do I Need a Wage Theft Attorney for My Wage Theft Case?
• Employer Paycheck Bounced
• Employer Taking Money From The Tip Pool
• Employer Took Out Too Much For Taxes
• Examples of Wage Theft
• Fired for Filing A Wage Theft Claim
• How to File a Complaint For Wage Theft At Work?
• How To Handle Wage Theft In The Workplace
• How to Report Wage Theft
• How To Document Wage Theft
• HR Told Me Not to Pursue Wage Theft Case
• I Didn’t Receive My Last Paycheck After Quitting
• I Was Forced To Work Through Lunch/Break
• Independent Contractor Not Being Paid
• Not Being Paid for Travel Time
• Remedies for Wage Theft
• Violating The Employment Contract
• What Are My Rights Against Wage Theft?
• What is Wage Theft?
• What Makes A Good Wage Theft Case?
• What To Do If You Were Not Paid Overtime
• What To Expect After Filing A Wage Theft Claim
• When Is Overtime Pay Required?
• Worked From Home, Not Getting Paid