Houston workers might be surprised that to know that those employed in the minimum-wage sector might be getting cheated out of compensation. As mentioned in The Houston Chronicle, a study titled "Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers" by the National Employment Law Project found that the average worker's pay was reduced 15 percent by documented violations of fair labor laws.
Some common violations of labor laws in Houston include not paying the minimum wage, forcing "time off of the clock" that is not properly compensated, unpaid overtime wages, inadequate or nonexistent meal breaks, late pay, illegal deductions, or failure to provide a paystub.
In fact, 68 percent of workers surveyed in the "Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers" study had experienced some sort of pay violation in the immediately preceding work week.
All Houston workers should be aware of state and federal labor laws, so that they aren't taken advantage of by employers. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which initially passed in 1938, guarantees U.S workers minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards. FindLaw reports that even smaller businesses not covered by FLSA are often subjected to a minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor provisions.
If you feel that your employer has violated FLSA in any way, you can call a Houston employment lawyer and file a legal claim. The article in the Houston Chronicle stated that wage and hour lawsuits have been growing at the national level. Class action lawsuits are often filed when large companies violate labor laws, where multiple workers can all be addressed at once and all gain small back pay claims.
Related Resources:
- Wage and Hour Laws FAQ (FindLaw)
- Compensatory Time Might Not Be Legal (FindLaw)
- Houston employment lawyer directory (FindLaw)
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