It is only fair that an employee gets paid for the work that he or she provides. However, many workers in California these days may feel like they are overworked and underpaid. Fortunately, there are wage and hour laws that state workers must be appropriately paid for the work they perform. These laws also say that employees have to be paid overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a week. Unfortunately, employers sometimes neglect the pay of their employees in an attempt to reduce expenses.
Employees of a restaurant in another state filed a class-action lawsuit over allegations that they were not paid correctly. According to the lawsuit, the owners of the restaurant paid servers and kitchen workers a set amount in wages each week even though kitchen staff often worked 50 to 60 hours a week. The lawsuit claimed their weekly pay divided by hours worked equated to hourly wages of less than $7.25 an hour.
Employees who worked in excess of 40 hours claimed they were not paid the required time-and-a-half payment. Allegedly, the restaurant owners also failed to keep accurate records of the hours the staff worked each week and also intentionally omitted worked hours after employees reached 40 hours. The lawsuit was recently settled with the restaurant owners agreeing to pay a sum of $225,000 in back pay.
Failing to pay employees is not only very wrong, it is also unlawful. Workers in California who feel they have been denied rightful compensation by their employer can take legal action by contacting a legal representative. A successful lawsuit could result in much-needed compensation to help individuals get back on their feet.