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Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm

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Wage: Minimum Wage

The Employee’s Attorney: Ohio Minimum Wage Lawyers

Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires that virtually every employee is paid according to the federally mandated minimum wage, currently set at $7.25 per hour (in Ohio the minimum wage has been raised to $8.10 through State legislation). (See What Is Minimum For Wages In Ohio For 2016? – Call The Right Attorney). Paying workers less than minimum wage is wage theft.

The vast majority of Ohio employees are entitled to a minimum wage. This means that in Ohio, your employer must pay you, at minimum, $8.10 for every hour that you work. If an employee is not paid per hour, but instead receives some form of weekly or monthly salary, these salaried wages must also average at least $8.10 per hour each week worked.

Minimum wage violations also often arise when employers require workers to bear the costs of uniforms, tools or equipment maintenance. If your weekly pay less these costs results in you earning less than minimum wage, your employer is liable. For example, if you are being paid $8.10 per hour, but your boss deducts uniform costs from your pay, you are not being paid minimum wage and would have a wage and hour claim against your employer.

The Exceptions To Minimum Wage

There are some exemptions to the minimum wage requirement. But, you are required to be paid at least minimum wage unless you are employed in any capacity except one of the following jobs:

  • Babysitters on a casual basis
  • Companions for the elderly or infirm
  • Workers with disabilities
  • Federal criminal investigators
  • Employees engaged in fishing operations
  • Homeworkers making wreaths
  • Newspaper delivery
  • Newspaper employees of limited circulation newspapers
  • Switchboard operators of small telephone companies
  • Employees of certain seasonal amusement or recreational establishments
  • Seamen employed on foreign vessels
  • Farmworkers employed on small farms (i.e., those that used less than 500 “man‑days” of farm labor in any calendar quarter of the preceding calendar year)

In Ohio, employers can pay tipped employees an hourly wage of 50 percent of the minimum wage. With the tip credit applied, the minimum direct wage payable to a tipped employee is $3.85 per hour. The tip credit applies only if the employee’s tips and wages bring the total hourly wage up to the state minimum wage. If it does not, an employer must make up the difference in cash.

The FLSA also requires the employer to notify the tipped employees of the intent to treat tips as satisfying part of the employer’s minimum wage obligation. Additionally, tipped employees must retain all of their tips (except when participating in a valid tip-pooling arrangement). This means that if managers, owners, dishwashers, cooks, chefs or others who are not entitled to share in tips, share in the tip pool or get a portion of each server’s tips, the employer must pay the employee the full minimum wage of $8.10 – and is liable for the difference in them failing to do so.

When Should I Talk To An Attorney?

You should call our wage theft lawyers immediately if you are searching for any of the following:

  • I am not being paid minimum wage.
  • My boss is making me pay for uniforms that make my weekly wage lower than the minimum wage.
  • I am not being paid for hours that I work, which results in me being paid less than minimum wage.
  • My paycheck is short.
  • What should I do if I am being paid below minimum wage?
  • My boss won’t let me go home but won’t pay me for being at work.
  • My job is stealing my wages.
  • My company is misclassifying me as an independent contractor so it does not have to pay me minimum wage.
  • How do I get the money that my job owes me?
  • Am I being properly paid?
  • What is the minimum wage in Ohio?
  • Can my company pay me less than minimum wage?

If you believe that your employer is not paying you all of your wages, paying you less than minimum wage, unlawfully deducting money from your paycheck, or is otherwise cheating you out of wages required, contact the minimum wage violation lawyers and overtime claim attorneys at Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, today for a free and confidential initial consultation. You may have a claim under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act or Ohio Fair Labor Standards Act. Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, will provide you with the best options for your wage and hour pay dispute situation. If you even think that you may be entitled to overtime pay that you are not being paid, Call our office at 866-797-6040 0 per hour. For example, an office assistant, nurse, or landscaping worker who works 40 hours per week for an Ohio company, but who only receives a weekly salary of $300, will have a claim against the employer under the FLSA because the assistant’s hourly wages average less than $8.10.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wage: Minimum Wage

Confused about what sets your minimum wage or how it gets applied? You’re not alone. Here are some of the most common questions we at Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm see on a daily basis:

Do State Or Federal Laws Control How And What I Get Paid?

In addition to federal laws, most individual states also have minimum wage laws that apply employees working in their states. Because state laws may provide a different minimum wage than the FLSA, the employee is always entitled to be paid the higher of the two minimum wages.

Can My Employer Ever Pay Me Less Than Minimum Wage?

There are some minimum wage exceptions that may be available to employers to pay less than minimum wage to farmworkersseasonal workers, full-time students, minors, workers with disabilities, tipped employees and student-learners. The exemptions for minimum wage are tricky to understand. Therefore, the best thing to do if you are being paid less than minimum wage is to call us and let our wage and hour attorneys help you figure out if you have a claim.

Does My Boss Have To Give Me A Raise? Do I Have A Claim If I Have Not Been Given A Raises In Five Years?

Unfortunately, the law does not require that employers provide employees pay raises, except to the extent a raise is necessary to keep up with changes in state and federal minimum wage laws. However, once an employee is making over the minimum wage, there is no legal requirement for an employer to provide a cost of living or merit-based raises at any point or on any schedule.

Can I Be Fired If I Complain About Minimum Wage Violations Under The FLSA?

In addition to making sure that employees are paid minimum wage and overtime pay, the FLSA also specifically protects those employees who complain to their employer about actual or even perceived wage violations. Under the FLSA, an employee is legally protected against retaliation, including from wrongful termination, for reporting suspected minimum wage violations, even if the employee ends up being wrong. If you have been fired after reporting a wage issue, it is best to quickly get an experienced wage lawyer involved to help you out.

How And When Does The Minimum Wage Get Increased?

There is no set schedule for the minimum wage to be increased. Additionally, there are no automatically set increases to the minimum wage that occur on a set schedule. Instead, the only way that the minimum wage is increased is by a change in federal or state law.

Am I Still Entitled To Minimum Wage If I Am A Tipped Employee?

Tipped employees still must be paid the full minimum wage once tips are included. Because the minimum wage contemplates tips as part of the wage paid to employees, employers may take a tip credit when paying the employee their wages. Because this is a very complex issue, our wage and hour lawyers have an entire web page dedicated to the rights and claims of tipped employees.

If I’m Not A Citizen Of The United States, Should I Still Get Paid The Minimum Wage Required Under The FLSA?

Several courts have held that qualified employees can recover for an employer’s failure to pay the required minimum wage when the employee is not a U.S. citizen. Even undocumented workers should be paid minimum wage. Stated another way, per these court decisions an employee’s immigration status does not affect an employee’s right to be paid minimum wage.

When You Have Questions, Call The Right Attorney™

Because we know that many clients are not able to afford the costs of litigation upfront, we take on more cases on a contingency fee basis than most firms. Contingency fee agreements mean that the client need not pay any fee for legal services unless and until our employment attorneys recover money and/or results on your wage theft claim.

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