Winning Your Overtime Pay and Wages Case: 5 Key Documents You Need
If you are reading this, it means your boss must have violated labor laws by denying you wage and overtime pay, and you wish to make a claim. Do you know what is necessary for this claim? First, you must understand the documents you will need to make your claim well-grounded.
Employment law cases involving overtime pay and wages feed on concrete documentation or evidence. It will help you establish the strength of your case and fortify arguments in court. This is why you need to work with an employment attorney to help you through the process.
Types of Employment Law Violations
Although this piece is specified for wages and overtime pay cases, it is vital to note that employees must kick against other employment law violations legally. They include:
- Age, sex, race, or health-related discrimination against employees
- Workplace sexual, emotional, or physical harassment and molding a harsh work environment
- Preventing workers from taking the regular legal breaks they are entitled to
- Threatening workers of possible retaliation if they report any employment law violations
- Not paying workers their overtime compensation
To gather evidence against any of these violations, you will need an attorney because they understand the legal process involved and to prevent you from violating any privacy laws or behaving in ways that could break your case.
What Are the Documents or Evidence Needed to Make An Overtime Pay and Wages Claim?
Here are the five documents you need to support your claim:
- Your Records
The federal law states that all employers must keep their employee’s records to prevent unfair treatment. That way, when a worker claims broken overtime pay or wage laws, these records can be revisited to deny or confirm the claim.
If the reviewed record confirms the worker’s claim, they might be eligible for monetary compensation for unpaid overtime and wages plus other damages.
When you notice inaccuracies in your wages or overtime pay, you can request your records to know if your suspicions are true. If you discover that some of your overtime compensations are not accurately paid, you can speak to your boss about it. However, if your employer refuses to change or threatens you in any way, take the case up legally through your lawyer.
- Wage Statements and Pay Stubs
If your work log shows 60 hours of work in a week, for instance, and your pay stub indicates payments for just 40 hours, the evidence is glaring that you have been denied proper overtime payments.
Furthermore, your wage statements can show the amount you are paid. That is, is it on the minimum wage standard or not? This evidence can solidly support your claim.
- Your Workplace’s Payroll Records
When your lawyer requests your workplace’s payroll records, they can find loopholes there, if there are any. These records will reveal any pattern of denial or underpayment of wages or overtime. Also, if more workers are not paid or underpaid overtime compensation or wages, it will be ruled that your employer’s violation is not isolated but systemic.
- Your Employment Agreements and Contracts
This is straightforward. If your employer did not fulfill the conditions promised in your employment contract and agreement and you have been fulfilling yours, you can use this document to back up your claim.
- Workplace Laws and Worker Handbooks
It is simple. If it was stated in your workplace’s handbook that all employees will be compensated for overtime using the standard rate, which is 1.5 times higher than their hourly rate, but acts otherwise, these handbooks could be used as evidence.
Conclusion
“You must quickly take action and inform your employer that you are aware of your employee rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act and immediately call for legal representation if they take adverse measures against you as revenge for you filing wages or overtime claims,” says attorney Michael Lore of The Lore Law Firm. Should they try to fire you, or if they have already, you might have a strong case for wrongful termination against them.
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