So you’re concerned that you’re not being paid fairly at work… what are your next steps?

So you’re concerned that you’re not being paid fairly at work… what are your next steps?

The first thing you ought to do is take a step back and consider how you think it is (or might be) unfair. Is it because you’re a woman and a man is being paid more for the same or equivalent work? Is it because you’re working too many hours and not being paid overtime? Is it because you’re a tipped employee (like a server or a bartender) and either you’re not making enough money or your employer is requiring you to do a load of un-tipped work?

There are way too many scenarios to list them all in a blog entry, but here are the basic things to consider. If the root of your concern is minimum wage (not making at least $7.25 per hour) or overtime (not making time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a single workweek), most of the time you’re thinking about theFair Labor Standards Act (federal law). Talking to an employment lawyer early in this process can be a big help, and most of the time these sorts of cases cost you little or no money out-of-pocket (because of contingency fees, where you don’t pay fees until your attorney recovers money for you). There are a few important strategic steps to consider before you bring this up with your employer, and just because you consult a lawyer doesn’t mean you’re jumping straight to ling a lawsuit. I’ve worked on cases where the employers (who paid my clients money to resolve their cases) thanked us for identifying and helping them x the problem before it got bigger! Experienced and informed legal help can make a huge difference early on.

If the root of your concern is a pay disparity between you and other similar employees, there’s an important question to ask yourself: what differentiates those employees from me? An employer can pay someone else more for the same job based on seniority or bona de differences that justify the differential.An employer cannot pay anyone more or less because of their gender, race, religion, national origin, age, or other protected factors. These protections arise out of federal laws like the Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, theAge Discrimination in Employment Act, etc. These are hard questions that require very careful legal analysis – again, early help from an attorney can make a big difference, and I’m here to be your lawyer for work. I don’t charge for consultations on these sorts of issues, so by all means please call, email, text or video conference me about it!

If you’re just not getting paid – perhaps your employer is withholding pay as discipline or leverage or taking unfair deductions from your checks – most of the time you’re talking about state wage law. The good news here is that there are significant penalties for employers who wrongfully withhold or fail to pay wages – sometimes double or triple what they withhold from you – plus the courts often require them to pay your attorneys’ fees too. Again, a lawyer’s early help here matters a lot – often, state law does not protect you from retaliation by your employer. At least in Indiana, it is 100% legal for your employer to fire you for filing a wage claim!

In each of these situations, early help from an employment lawyer can make a huge difference in protecting you, your wages, and your job. My initial consultations are free, and often I will work on a contingent fee where you don’t pay any attorney’s fees to me until I can recover money for you. By all means, call, email, text or video conference me and let’s talk about your wage issues!