LEGAL MATTERS HANDLED PERSONALLY SINCE 1957

The Fair Labor Standards Act imposes strict standards on how your employer is allowed (and not allowed) to make deductions from your paycheck, or what they are allowed to consider as part of your pay.

Employers frequently try to skirt these rules and assume that their workers don’t know their rights well enough to notice or fight back against wage theft, but a wage and hour attorney in Columbus will notice right away.

Because our wage lawyers in Columbus know what to look for when it comes to illegal wage deductions leading to unpaid wages, we want to empower you to know what to look for as well. If you’ve seen evidence of any of these illegal wage deductions, you should talk to our lost wages lawyers in Columbus about recouping the wages that you are legally entitled to.

Illegal Wage Deductions for Uniforms

While it is permissible for an employer to require a uniform for work, a provided uniform does not count as wages. An employer cannot provide a uniform in lieu of their obligations to pay minimum wage or overtime obligations.

That means that an employer cannot deduct the cost of a uniform from your pay if it causes your pay rate to fall below the minimum wage or decreases the overtime rate that you are entitled to. That is an illegal deduction. You are legally entitled to that pay, and an unpaid wage and hour lawyer in Columbus can help you recover this.

Take, for example,  if a restaurant pays minimum wage to a host, but deducts money from their paycheck for the host uniform. If a worker is making minimum wage, the employer cannot deduct money from their paycheck for a uniform, or most other reasons – even losses resulting from the employee’s negligence.

If a worker is making more than minimum wage, employers are only allowed to deduct for specific purposes up to the amount of minimum wage. This means that at the end of the workweek, your paycheck, after the uniform deductions, cannot result in you making less than the minimum wage per hour on average.  In Ohio, the minimum wage will be $10.10 as of January 2023.

If an employer is paying $11.10, or one dollar per hour over the minimum wage, then for an employer working 20 hours a week, they would only be able to deduct a maximum of $20 each week. If the employer deducts more than $20 in this example, the employee would actually make less the minimum wage per hour.   It sounds complicated, that is why an unpaid wages lawyer in Ohio should get involved to help fight back against these illegal deductions – preferably one with a long history of successful results.

Illegal Wage Deductions Cover More Than Uniforms

While the FLSA mentions uniforms specifically when referring to illegal deductions that a wage and hour attorney in Columbus can fight back against, the Act covers more than uniforms.

The Act states that “items which are considered to be primarily for the benefit or convenience of the employer” cannot be included in wages. This means uniforms, but also some things one might not expect.

Other categories considered to be “for the convenience of the employer” include tools required for work, damages caused by employees or customers, unpaid bills by customers, and theft of company property. None of these can be deducted from an employee’s weekly pay beyond minimum wage or overtime obligations, even if the employee is at fault.

What an Employer Can and Cannot Do

In a number of states, there are laws that protect employees from any paycheck deductions resulting from issues like damaged equipment or a cash drawer that comes up short. Ohio is not one of those states, but wage and hour attorneys in Ohio can still make sure an employer does not deduct wages beyond the Ohio minimum wage threshold in accordance with federal and Ohio law.

That means that a minimum wage worker cannot have their paycheck deducted even if there is money missing from their register if the amount deducted will result in the worker making less than the minimum wage.

Of course, that doesn’t mean your employer can’t take other actions – they are within their rights to terminate your employment or even pursue legal action if they believe money or equipment was intentionally stolen. Our employment attorneys in Columbus can help you fight back in any of these cases, especially if your check is being deducted unjustly or beyond the allowable maximum.

If you feel you’ve had your wages cut unfairly, or more than is legally allowed, contact the wage and hour attorneys at Barkan Meizlish DeRose Cox, LLP and reclaim the wages you worked for and are legally entitled to.

Anyone Can Be a Victim of Wage Theft

Wage theft is a significant issue that affects millions of workers each year. Unfortunately, many people do not even realize they are a victim until it’s too late. In this post, we will discuss what wage theft is and some of the most common forms it takes. We will also share resources for workers who think they may have been a victim of wage theft. So, if you are interested in learning more about this important topic, keep reading!

Wait, What IS Wage Theft?

Wage theft is the practice of employers not paying workers their full wages for all hours worked in a timely manner.   Examples include: paying less than the federal or state minimum wage, not paying overtime, not including all of the workers’ wages when paying overtime, automatically deducting the time for meal breaks when workers do not get the meal break, requiring workers to work off-the-clock or taking workers’ tips.   This is a major issue that impacts workers and their families in the short-term, as well as long run. Not only does it reduce the income that a person would have been making had they not been deprived, but wage theft also impacts loved ones by taking away money for resources like food, rent or mortgage payments, out-of-pocket healthcare costs and clothing.

What are some steps that workers can take if they experience wage theft or if they suspect that their employer is engaging in this practice?

One option is to contact the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), WHD | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) which investigates wage concerns. All calls are confidential, and you can call to ask questions about labor laws even if you are not sure, you want or need to file a complaint. In Ohio you can contact the Bureau of Wage & Hour Administration to file a complaint for non-payment of regular wages or overtime at Wage & Hour | Ohio Department of Commerce.

There are organizations that help workers who are the victims of wage theft.  Many unions provide workers wage theft assistance, as well as non-profit organizations. In central Ohio, the Central Ohio Worker Center is leading resource for Ohio workers. They can be contacted at  https://centralohioworkercenter.org/.

Know Your Rights

The first step to combating and preventing wage theft is understanding your federal and state rights at work.  While some mistakes are accidental, many wage issues are a result of an employers’ policy violate state and/or federal wage laws. You should track your own hours and keep your own record of the hours you actually work.   If you perform tasks that help prepare you for your job duties or necessary after your shift is over, that is still work and you should be paid for that time.  If you are not being paid for that time, seek help.  It is important to speak up about wage theft and fight for your rights as a worker!

Wage theft is a significant issue that impacts workers and their families. This problem has been around for a long time, but it continues to persist.  This practice reduces the income of hardworking people and should not be tolerated. If you have experienced wage theft, or know someone who has, please call a union, a workers’ right center or a wage and hour lawyer to discuss your case. You may be entitled to back pay, damages, and other relief. Thank you for reading our blog post on this important topic.

The Paycheck Warriors is a bi-weekly column written by The Paycheck Warrior himself, Managing Partner Bob DeRose. Every other week, just like your paycheck, Bob will take the time to address commonly asked questions about wage and hour law. He will also take on wage and hour topics popping up in the news. Have a question? Leave a comment and see what The Paycheck Warrior has to say!

Re-introducing: the Paycheck Warriors at Barkan Meizlish, LLP! The Paycheck Warriors is a weekly column written by The Paycheck Warrior himself, Managing Partner Bob DeRose. Every week, Bob will take the time to address commonly asked questions about wage and hour law. He will also take on wage and hour topics popping up in the news. Have a question? Leave a comment and see what The Paycheck Warrior has to say! Today’s topic: tip credit and the 80/20 rule

How many jobs can your server have?  And which job pays them at least minimum wages? What is a tip credit?

Did you know that your busy server is actually doing three jobs at once?

An employer is required to pay their employees at least the Federal minimum wage for all hours worked, currently $7.25 per hour; however, for employees who regularly and customarily receive tips, employers may apply a “tip credit” which allows them count tips received as if it were cash payment toward the minimum wage.   Servers being paid under a “tip credit” system, can be paid as little as $2.13 per hour (in states that don’t have a state tipped employee minimum here is a link to the Department of Labor’s list of state minimum wage requirements) and the restaurant owner uses customers’ tips to make up the remainder of the minimum wage owed.   Thus, the employer gets a “credit” for the tips customers leave to apply to its obligation to pay its servers.

In 2018, the Trump administration, removed a provision of the “tip credit” that required employers to pay tipped employees the full minimum wage when they are spending more than 20% of their time performing non-tipped duties.  On December 28, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reinstated the “80/20 Rule” and broadened tipped employee protections. Under the revived and renewed “80/20” rule, a tip credit is not available when tipped employees spend more than 20% of their working time on non-tipped activities. The revision also created the “30-Minute” Rule.  The “30-Minute” rule prohibits employers from taking a tip credit when a tipped employee spends more than thirty continuous minutes performing non-tipped work.

The new rule creates three categories of work:    “Tip-producing work,” “work that directly supports tip-producing work,” and “work that is not part of the tipped occupation.”

What is tip-producing work?

The DOL provided a non-exhaustive list in its final rule but defined it as “all aspects of the work performed by a tipped employee when they are providing service to the customer” and customarily and regularly receive tips.

What is directly supporting work?

According to the Rule, directly supporting work is work that is “either performed in preparation of or otherwise assists the tip-producing customer service work.”  The DOL provided another non-exhaustive list of what it considers directly supporting work.  The directly supporting work are tasks that an employer assigns and are foreseeable such as refilling condiment containers, rolling silverware, setting tables, bussing tables, and cleaning up the table areas.   Servers waiting for customers to wait on is considered “directly supporting work.”   An employer cannot take a tip credit for directly supporting work that exceeds 20% of the server’s workweek or performed for more than 30-minutes at a time.

What is work that is not part of the tipped occupation?

Everything else.

Confused?    Not surprising! The reinstated and revised “80/20 Rule”  does give servers more protections.  It will be a challenge for employers to categorize a tipped employee’s hours worked each week, but they must do it if they want to comply with the FLSA and pay employees correctly.  It is important to note that the “80/20” Rule applies to all tipped employees, not just restaurant workers.   If are a tipped employee with questions about how your employer pays you, feel free to call us at Barkan Meizlish DeRose Cox, LLP.

Re-introducing: the Paycheck Warriors at Barkan Meizlish, LLP! The Paycheck Warriors is a bi-weekly column written by The Paycheck Warrior himself, Managing Partner Bob DeRose. Every other week, just like your paycheck, Bob will take the time to address commonly asked questions about wage and hour law. He will also take on wage and hour topics popping up in the news. Have a question? Leave a comment and see what The Paycheck Warrior has to say! Today’s topic: shift differentials

Employers must include shift differential in regular rate when calculating overtime.

You are working an afternoon shift at your company.  You work six 8-hour shifts and get paid overtime for all hours you work over 40-hours per week. That sounds great until they forget about the fact that every afternoon shift worker has their hourly rate increased by $0.50 per hour – or a  shift differential. When a worker is paid a shift differential, that additional money must be added to the hourly rate, or what is called the regular rate, when calculating the rate that overtime hours are paid.   If the company does not include the shift differential when calculating overtime pay,  the workers are being cheated out of their hard-earned money!

The Department of Labor (DOL) has specific rules on how overtime must be paid.  Overtime is paid at 1.5 times a worker’s “regular rate” not their hourly rate. One of the most common mistakes employers make is not including shift differential in the regular rate when paying overtime.   So, what does the FLSA consider an employee’s “regular rate?”    To compute the regular rate, you take all compensation an employee earned in a workweek and divide  it by the total hours worked in that workweek.

Example:

Employee makes $10.00 per hour and works 50-hours per week.  The overtime rate for the 10-hours she worked over forty is $15.00 per overtime hour.  The regular rate is in this example is the same as the hourly rate.   However, if she received a $0.50 per hour shift differential during the week, her regular rate has to include $0.50 for each hour she was paid the shift differential.

Let us say she usually works day shift and is paid $10.00 per hour but gets $10.50 ($0.50 shift differential) when she works afternoon shift.  In our example she worked two 8-hour afternoon shifts in the week she worked 50-hours.   Her regular rate is calculated by taking 34-hours multiplied by $10.00 ($340.00) and 16-hours multiplied by $10.50 ($168.50) for a total of $508.00.  Divide the $508 by 50-hours and her regular rate is $10.16.  Thus, each overtime hour must be paid at 1.5 times $10.16 or $15.24.

In our example, if her employer did not include the shift differential in her regular rate then she was cheated out of ten overtime hours at $15.24, or $2.40 for that week.  This amount may not seem like much to the reader, but for her, since she did the work, it is wage she earned and is entitled to receive.

In Conclusion:

DOL overtime rules are complex, but overtime is one of the most regulated areas in employment. If an employer fails to pay overtime correctly, an employee could file a wage and hour claim against them. Those claims can get expensive as they often result in back overtime wages plus liquidated damages that must be paid to employees who win their case(s).

I hope that you found this blog post helpful. I would love to hear your feedback or any questions about the topic discussed in my blogs at barkanmeizlish.com/blog.

Thank you for reading!

Bob DeRose, Esq.

Attorney at Law | The Paycheck Warrior!

barkanmeizlish.com/blog | bderose@barkanmeizlish.com | 614-221-4221 (office) | 614-832-5297(cell) ©2022 All Rights Reserved.

Neither Barkan Meizlish DeRose Cox, LLP, nor the author intends to create an attorney-client relationship by providing information through this blog or otherwise. The transmission of information from this blog or the provision of any email correspondence to Barkan Meizlish DeRose Cox, LLP or the author does not create an attorney-client relationship. This blog is not intended to be legal advice and is provided for informational purposes only. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions.

This information is not a substitute for individualized legal advice. Although we have attempted to provide accurate and current information, the laws in your jurisdiction may be different from those described here. If you have questions about your specific wage issue, you should contact an attorney to seek specific advice. If you have any questions about overtime or would like more information on how to correctly pay overtime, please contact Barkan Meizlish DeRose Cox, LLP. We are happy to help!