Archive for the ‘Wages’ Category
July 28th, 2010A Reader Asks This Question:
I been wondering about possible discrimination that’s happening at my job. I work in a casino and my department is made up of only war veterans and disabled war veterans. I proudly served my country for many years and I just want to know some things.
For the last couple of years every other department have gotten pay raises and just this year every other department got company benefits. I don’t understand why everybody else at this casino is getting everything and my department which is all veterans and disabled veterans is not getting anything.
They mock and laugh at us because they get everything and my department did not. Its creating a hostile workplace I come to work every night angry and leave work every morning even more angry. The disabled veterans do not have proper access to a bathroom that can properly handle there needs.
The casino has done nothing in 5 years to help the disabled veterans with there latrine needs they just ignore it. So would this be an example of discriminating against us war veterans and disabled war veterans?
Oh I forgot to add they hire kids right out of high school and they get paid more and get the benefits. While us veterans who has been here for at least 4 years do not get nothing and get paid less then some kid right out of high school. My bosses will not do anything about this situation they just ignore it completely. This is not right somebody out there please offer me some serious advice on this situation please!!
View the answer(s) below…
May 20th, 2010
Employees Working For Tips – Know Your Rights
People working in the service industry in the United States, especially the wait staff of a restaurant, typically receive a substantial portion of their income as tips. Since the practice of tipping is so well-established, wait staff are often paid significantly below minimum wage on the assumption that the money they receive as tips will make up for the difference. For that reason, it is important for employees working for tips to know their rights.
Minimum wage laws, including wages for tipped workers, vary from state to state. At the federal level, however, the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. For employees who work for tips, the minimum is much lower: in Texas, for example, it is $2.13 per hour. Since it is customary to give waiters and waitresses a gratuity of roughly 15% of the total bill for their services, minimum wage laws assume employees will take home at least enough money to make up the difference.
When an employee who works for tips does not receive enough tip money to make up the difference, employers are required by law to pay their employees extra hourly wages to meet the local minimum wage laws. A waiter whose combined hourly and tipped pay averages around $5 per hour must therefore be paid $2.25 per hour extra to meet minimum wage.
Unfortunately employers do not always comply with that law. It can sometimes be difficult to document and prove the amount of tip money an employee receives, so some employers attempt to underpay their tipped employees. If an employee can demonstrate that they have been underpaid, they are entitled to take their employers to court.
Similarly, when a gratuity is left on a credit card bill, employees are required to factor that into an employee’s pay as well. In some cases they are allowed to subtract the credit card processing fee from the employee’s tips. In doing so it is possible to push an employee’s wages below minimum wage. When that occurs, the employee’s rights have been illegally violated.
If you or someone you love works for tips and has been unfairly and illegally denied a fair wage, you have the right to take your employer to court for their illegal practices. With the help of a compassionate employment lawyer, you can put a stop to illegal and exploitative labor practices and finally find justice.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_S_Caldwell
http://EzineArticles.com/?Employees-Working-For-Tips—Know-Your-Rights&id=4318072
May 19th, 2010
Wage Theft and Hours Spent on Premises
Wage theft is a confusing subject for most employees. Employers then frequently take advantage of employees because of the inherent confusion when it comes to compensation. One of the things that many employees do not understand is that they are completely entitled to compensation for all time spent on duty for less than 24 hours. This includes compensation for things such as nap or sleep times.
Simply put, if an employer requires that you spend a great deal of time on the premises of the workplace and that requirement also means that you must eat and sleep at the workplace, you are entitled to payment for the entire time you spend at work. It is common for employers to pick up time sheets and then subtract hours for sleeping, naps and foods from the employee’s paycheck. But this behavior is actually illegal and the employer can be taken to court for attempting to subtract that time.
Why You Should Be Paid for Time Not Spent “Working”
It may seem reasonable to you for an employer to take out the time that you spent napping or sleeping out of your paycheck because you were not actively working and it may seem that therefore you should not be paid for that time. But when you are forced to stay on the premises, you cannot leave and live your life as you normally would and more importantly as you would want to. When there is a major interruption in your life due to work conflicts, you deserve to be compensated for this sacrifice. You are in fact actively performing a duty for your employer simply by just staying nearby.
To find out more about wage theft and hours spent on the workplace premises, visit the website of the wage theft attorneys of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP
James Witherspoon
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Witherspoon
http://EzineArticles.com/?Wage-Theft-and-Hours-Spent-on-Premises&id=4317726
