Wage and hour attorney in Evanston.

Sometimes it is a few minutes before every shift. Sometimes it is a job title that makes you exempt on paper when the work says otherwise. Small amounts add up over time, and the law gives you ways to recover them.

Common wage and hour violations

Frances brings claims for overtime that was never paid; pay below the minimum wage; time worked before a shift, after it or through a break; improper overtime rates or calculation errors, such as leaving a bonus out of the overtime rate; deductions taken from your pay without a lawful basis; meal or rest breaks denied where the law requires them; commission or bonus payment problems; misclassification as an independent contractor; and misclassification as exempt, or salaried, when you should be paid hourly.

Salaried does not always mean exempt

Being paid a salary does not by itself take away your right to overtime. To be exempt, a job generally has to meet both a pay test and a duties test under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law. Many employees with titles like coordinator, analyst or assistant manager spend most of their time on work that does not meet the duties test. If you regularly work more than 40 hours a week on a salary, it is worth checking.

Contractor or employee?

An employer’s label is not the final word. Courts look at how the work is actually controlled and done: who sets the schedule, who supplies the tools, whether the work is part of the company’s regular business, and whether you can, in practice, work for others. States can apply their own tests under state wage laws. Misclassification can mean losing overtime, minimum wage and other protections that employees receive.

The laws that protect your pay

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets minimum wage and overtime rules, including overtime at one and a half times your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. State minimum wage and wage payment laws often add more, covering final pay, earned commissions and bonuses, and deductions, which many states allow only with your written consent at the time. Some cities and counties set their own minimum wage and paid leave rules on top.

Individual claims and group cases

Wage cases can be brought for one person or for a group of coworkers with the same problem. Federal claims are often brought as a collective action, where coworkers opt in, and state claims as a class action. Frances began her career handling individual and class and collective wage and hour litigation for employers, and later led wage and hour work on the employee side, so she knows how both kinds of case are built and defended.

How far back can you recover?

Time limits apply. Federal claims generally reach back two years, or three for willful violations, and some state wage laws allow a longer look-back. Every pay period that passes can fall outside the window, so it is worth acting sooner rather than later.

What to gather

Recent pay stubs and W-2s, or a 1099 if you were treated as a contractor; schedules and timecards; your own notes of time worked before clock-in, after clock-out or through breaks; your offer letter and job description; and any commission or bonus plan. Recent documents are enough to start. If you no longer have access to your records, Frances can explain how they can be obtained from the employer.

Asking about your pay is protected

Complaining about unpaid wages, internally or to an agency, is protected under federal and state law. If you were punished for raising a pay issue, that may also be retaliation, and if the job has already ended, see wrongful termination. Wage claims are often handled on a contingency basis; see fee structures.