Tri-State Attorneys Helping Workers Collect Unpaid Wages
New York, like many states, has laws that strictly regulate employment. In addition to existing federal legislation that covers workers across the nation, we have local anti-discrimination statutes, workplace safety laws, and wage-hour laws that apply only to employees in New York.
As attorneys who devote much of our practice to recovering unpaid wages for workers in the greater metropolitan New York area, Leeds Brown Law, P.C. knows first-hand just how complicated these laws can be. The sheer number of regulations is enough to confuse any employee trying to understand his or her rights to collect wages. There are federal and state laws that address things like the timing of paychecks, appropriate deductions, methods of payment, how to calculate hours, overtime pay, and minimum wage, just to name a few.
To further complicate matters is the fact that the rules sometimes differ depending on whether you work in New York City, on Long Island, in Westchester or elsewhere in the state. For example, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. It is higher in New York State and even higher in New York City. Luckily for you, experienced employment lawyers at Leeds Brown can easily sift through the confusion, providing you with the information you need to secure all of the wages to which you are legally entitled.
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Agencies Help Recover Millions of Unpaid Wages for Workers
US Department of Labor, Wage-Hour Division (WHD), the federal agency that oversees enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) reports that during the fiscal years 2012-2016 it helped over 1.3 million workers recover over 1 billion dollars in back wages. The WHD states that in the fiscal year 2016, it collected an average of 730,000 dollars per day in unpaid wages for workers. https://www.dol.gov/whd/data/.
In New York State in 2014, the NY Department of Labor (DOL) disbursed approximately 30 million dollars to 127,000 workers. Wage disputes filed under New York State Labor Law (NYSLL), are handled by the State DOL.
Employees File Lawsuits to Recover Unpaid Wages
You are not always required to file a complaint with an administrative agency to collect unpaid wages. You may have the right to file a civil lawsuit against your employer. In fact, reports indicate that the number of FLSA lawsuits workers are filing against employers is rising and projected to continue. At times, an employer may violate the rights of many or all of its employees. In that case, a class action might follow where all of the employees seeking to recover wages file a single lawsuit.
Deciding how to proceed with your pay dispute is something you should do with the help of an experienced attorney. You should consult with legal professionals at Leeds Brown who thoroughly understand state and federal wage and hour laws and how they apply to you. We can choose the best way to proceed and guide your claim toward a satisfactory resolution by negotiating a fair settlement or taking your case to trial. We are not afraid to stand up to small or large enterprises and can, with skill and passion, advocate for your rights every step of the way.
Unpaid Wage Attorneys at Leeds Brown Understand the Issues and Laws
When it comes to the ways your employer can violate the FLSA or NYSLL, there are too many to name. Most wage and hour disputes involve one or more of the following issues:
- Unpaid wages
- Unpaid Overtime
- Calculating hours
- Defining workweek
- Federal minimum wage
- New York minimum wage
- New York City minimum wage
- Long Island Minimum wage
- Misapplication of tip credit
- Tip theft
- Pooling gratuities
- New York overtime exemptions
- New York City overtime exemptions
- Long Island overtime exemptions
- Federal overtime exemptions
- Independent contractors
- Misclassification of employees
- Retaliation
- Non-exempt workers
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- New York Wage Theft Protection Act (WTPA)
- New York State Labor Law (NYSLL)
- The Minimum Wage Act (MWA)
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Consider this situation: You work in New York for 50 hours and receive your regular weekly salary which reflects the federal minimum wage times 40 hours. A lawyer at Leeds Brown, with experience handling unpaid wage cases, can analyze the situation with you. For instance:
- Should you be earning the New York State minimum wage or the New York City Minimum wage because they are higher than the federal one?
- Where is your overtime pay?
- Are you really exempt from overtime because you’re called a salaried employee?
- Did you work all of the hours in one single workweek?
- Do you work in a restaurant as a tipped employee?
- Were your gratuities applied or stolen?
- Does your employer refer to you as an independent contractor?
- Are you exempt because you are an executive an administrator?
- Did your employer say you will get the extra hours as comp time or that they were unauthorized?
- What law applies
Any unpaid wage analysis is complicated. When determining the best way to proceed to recover the money you are owed and calculating damages you should consider consulting with counsel.
We can ensure that you protect your rights to recover your wages and any other monetary compensation owed by your employer. Remember, it is not just illegal for your employer to withhold your money. It is also unlawful for your employer to retaliate against you for trying to secure wages to which you are legally entitled.