Laws related to unpaid wages and commissions regulate how often you need to be paid, how soon after payday you need to be paid, what can be deducted from your pay, how soon you need to be paid after you are terminated or resign, and how to enforce your rights.
Some workers are not sure whether they have fallen victim to wage theft. It is clear if you simply were not paid at all, but it may be more confusing. If you are not sure whether you are entitled to overtime, whether your employer failed to pay you a commission that you believe that you earned, whether your employer underpaid you as a tipped employee, or whether your employer failed to pay you when you worked through lunch, contact us right away. If you believe your employer has failed to pay you what you are owed, the Dallas wage law attorneys at Rob Wiley, P.C. may be able to help you get the money you are owed.
Unpaid CommissionsOften, employers use commissions as a form of incentive to have employees close deals or otherwise perform to a certain level. It is critical that your employment agreement be in writing and that the agreement specify under which conditions you will be paid sales commissions (or bonuses) and how these are to be paid. Whether or not these agreements are in writing can be important when it comes to making an employer pay.
Sometimes disputes about unpaid commissions arise if an employee leaves the employer and does not receive commission payments in the form of a final paycheck. It is important to make sure that you understand what your employment agreement says about commissions and that you take a look on the days that you get paid to figure out whether you are being compensated appropriately. Sometimes an employer has a grievance procedure for wage issues that is set forth in an employment manual. It can be wise to consult with an experienced attorney about your particular contract for commissions and whether your employer has breached the employment agreement or violated a law.
Unpaid WagesThe Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates wages and hours for most employees. The FLSA, also requires your employer to pay you at least once a month if you are salaried and twice per month if you are working on an hourly basis.
If you can establish a violation of the FLSA, you may be able to recover not only the unpaid wages but also liquidated damages. The liquidated damages award is the same as the amount owed in unpaid wages. For example, if your employer did not pay you $15,000 in overtime, you can get another $15,000 in the form of liquidated damages and recover a total of $30,000. Liquidated damages are meant to provide compensation for the deprivation of wages from the time that they should have been paid to the time that you are awarded the damages. Your employer cannot avoid paying the liquidated damages unless it shows that it acted in good faith and reasonably believed that it did not need to pay the money that is in controversy.
ProceduresIn Texas, you have two years to file unpaid wage claims under federal law. In some cases, the unpaid wages may not be sufficient to warrant filing a lawsuit. However, employers that do not fairly pay wages and commissions to one employee may be treating multiple employees this way, and in that case, you may be able to band together with other employees to bring a class action lawsuit against your employer.
Discuss Your Wage and Hour Claim with a Dallas AttorneyIf you are concerned about unpaid wages and commissions, you should consult a skillful attorney. You may be able to obtain damages to cover your losses if a Dallas employer has failed to pay you fairly. Call us at (214) 528-6500 or complete our online form.