Wage and hour attorneys can help clients receive the payment they are owed from their employment. Settlements often include pay that was illegally withheld or underpaid (back pay), liquidated damages (double the amount owed), punitive damages for extreme misconduct (such as time shaving or off-the-clock work without pay) and attorney’s fees.
For wage employees, your time is your pay (click to read about overtime for salaried employees). Most wage and hour cases arise from serious paycheck violations. While single cases of violations are represented and won in court, the most productive cases for Tennessee clients are class action suits where the number of employees show the unethical nature of employer pay practices when they sue for compensation.
Employment at Will in Tennessee
Tennessee is an employment at will state. This means that, unless you have a contract, your employer or you can terminate your employment at any time unless retaliation, discrimination or other protected leave such as maternity or jury duty are involved. If not part of company policy, employers in Tennessee are not required to offer holidays or medical insurance to their full-time employees.
A Tennessee employer may reduce your pay at any time as long as you are informed of the cut prior to work under the new wage being done.
No Tennessee worker is allowed to work before knowing the set amount he/she will be paid. Additionally, the Tennessee Wage Regulation Act prohibits your employer from deducting any sum of money as a penalty or fine from the employee's wages. (Tennessee’s and federal prevailing wage laws also give construction workers and clean-up crews at government construction projects special wage protections.)
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When Does Tennessee Overtime Begin?
It is the duty of your employer to make sure that you are “on the clock” and paid for the time you work. If you are pressured or permitted to work hours beyond your scheduled shift, then Tennessee employers are required to pay you for these hours and use them to calculate your breaks and overtime.
Tennessee labor law calculates overtime by the 40-hour workweek and not by the day. Time-and-a-half begins with the first minute over 40 hours worked. Tennessee labor laws also provide a 30-minute unpaid lunch break for every 6 hours of work.
If your employer offers other breaks of less than 30 minutes, federal law requires these breaks to be paid. Tennessee Wage Regulations Act requires regular paydays at least twice a month for all employers of five or more employees. No employer can withhold your paycheck for any reason or make deductions from it without your consent.
Working with a Tennessee Overtime Lawyer
Wage and hour law allows victims who work with a lawyer to sue to recover both withheld wages or overtime and an equal amount in liquidated damages. These lawsuits also provide for the payment of a wage and hour law attorney’s fees.
Additionally, federal and Tennessee employment laws prohibit an employer from firing an employee who files a complaint in good faith against an employer. These same employment laws require your employer keep accurate records of all hours worked by employees.
Legal Help for Unpaid or Underpaid Tennessee Wage Workers
Recent wage and labor cases have found that you must be paid for your time walking to and from the production floor, in some cases for the time required to remove this safety gear, for travel between jobsites, for social activities required by work and for training.
If you suspect your employer of unfair pay practices, you need an experienced Tennessee workplace law attorney to pursue your case. |