Wage and Hour Claims Attorneys
Workers across every industry are protected by federal and state wage and hour laws. When employers violate those laws, whether through unpaid overtime, misclassification, off-the-clock work, or tip theft, you have the right to hold them accountable. Josephson Dunlap has recovered unpaid wages for many workers nationwide.
WORKERS REPRESENTED NATIONWIDE
IN WAGES RECOVERED
CONSULTATION FEE
Federal and State Law Protects Your Right to Be Paid Fairly
The Fair Labor Standards Act and a network of state wage laws set clear rules for how employers must pay their workers. Those rules cover minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, tip handling, expense reimbursement, and more. When employers break those rules, workers may be owed back wages, liquidated damages, and legal fees.
Josephson Dunlap only represents people. We are the Lawyers For The Workers®. If your employer has shorted your pay in any way, our attorneys can review your potential case, explain what you may be owed, and handle your case from start to finish with no upfront cost to you.
Types of Wage and Hour Claims
Josephson Dunlap handles the full range of wage and hour violations under federal and state law. Select a claim type below to learn how to the law applies to your situation, and get in touch with an attorney.
Explore Wage & Hour Topics
Employee Misclassification
Workers are often misclassified as independent contractors when they should be classified as employees. Learn how to determine if you are misclassified and what to do if you are.
Learn About Employee Misclassification
Meal & Rest Break Violations
Many states require employers to provide meal and rest breaks. Denying legally required breaks or requiring employees to work through them may violate the law. Learn when employers must provide meal and rest breaks and what your options are if they don't.
Learn About Meal & Rest Breaks Violations
Minimum Wage Violations
If your hourly pay falls below the applicable federal, state, or local minimum wage, your employer may owe you unpaid wages. Learn how to determine whether you were paid below the legal minimum wage and what steps you can take.
Learn About Minimum Wage Violations
Employer Tip Theft
Tips belong to employees. Employers generally cannot keep your tips or require illegal tip-sharing arrangements that violate federal or state law. Learn what constitutes unlawful tip practices and what you can do if your tips were taken.
Learn About Employer Tip Theft
Off-the-Clock Work
Work performed before clocking in, after clocking out, during unpaid breaks, or from home may still be compensable if your employer required or allowed it. Learn what counts as off-the-clock work and how to determine whether you may be owed back wages.
Learn About Off-the-Clock Work
Unpaid Training
Required training, meetings, orientations, or certifications are often considered compensable work time. If you weren't paid, you may have a claim. Learn when training time must be paid and what your rights are under the law.
Learn About Unpaid Training
Unpaid Overtime
Most non-exempt employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. If you weren't paid time-and-a-half when required, you may be owed back wages. Learn how to determine if you're entitled to overtime pay and what to do if you weren't paid correctly.
Learn About Unpaid Overtime
Unpaid Commissions
If you've earned commissions under your compensation agreement, your employer generally cannot withhold or refuse to pay them without legal justification. Learn when commissions must be paid and what steps you can take if they were withheld.
Learn About Unpaid Commissions
Time Shaving
When an employer alters, rounds, or removes time from your time records so you're paid for fewer hours than you actually worked. Learn how to recognize time shaving and what you can do if your hours were reduced improperly.
Learn About Time Shaving
Untimely Wage Payment
Employees have the right to be paid on time. Delayed paychecks, late final paychecks, or repeated payroll delays may violate wage laws. Learn when late wage payments violate the law and what options may be available to you.
Learn About Untimely Wage Payment
Expense Reimbursement
If you paid for required work-related expenses out of your own pocket, your employer may be required to reimburse you under applicable state law. Learn when employers are required to reimburse expenses and what to do if they haven't.
Learn About Expense Reimbursement
Arbitration Agreements
Signing an arbitration agreement does not eliminate your wage rights. It simply means your claim may be resolved through private arbitration instead of court. Learn what an arbitration agreement means for your wage claim and what rights you still have.
Learn About Arbitration AgreementsThe Most Common Wage and Hour Violations
Wage violations range from obvious to nearly invisible. Some employers will underpay their workers on purpose. Others set up policies that will violate laws, and employees never question. In both cases, the only one losing out on that money, is you. The following are the most frequent violations our team handles.
Failure to Pay Overtime
The FLSA requires overtime at one and a half times the regular rate for every hour worked past 40 in a workweek. The regular rate must include most forms of additional pay, not just your base wage. Miscalculated rates, excluded bonuses, and straight-time payment for overtime hours are all violations, even when the pay stubs shows an overtime line item.
Employee Misclassification
Employers sometimes label workers as independent contractors or as exempt salaried employees to avoid paying overtime and benefits. Federal law does not look at the label. It looks at the actual working relationship. Workers who are directed by a supervisor, use employer-provided tools, and perform work central to the business often qualify as employees regardless of what any contract you signed says.
Off-the-Clock and Time Shaving
Pre-shift briefings, post-shift charting, required training, and responding to work messages outside of scheduled hours are all compensable time. Time shaving, where employers round down hours or edit time records to reduce the total on paper, has the same effect. If the work happened, it must be paid.
Meal and Rest Break Violations
Minimum Wage Violations
Untimely or Withheld Final Paychecks
What This Means For You
Many of these violations are designed to be hard to catch. Your pay stub will not say the overtime rate is incorrect. Your time sheet will not say you arrived earlier for a mandatory meeting that wasn't counted. An auto deducted meal break will not show that you actually worked through it. The only way to know and protect yourself, is to have an attorney on your side that can review your pay, and tell you how your pay should have been calculated.
Potential Remedies for Wage and Hour Violations
When an employer violates wage and hour law, the remedies available extend above and beyond the unpaid wages themselves. Federal and state laws provide for several additional forms of recovery depending on the nature of the violation, where the work occurred, and how the employer behaved.
Back Wages
The unpaid wages you should have received, including any overtime, commissions, bonuses, or minimum wage issues going back two or more years depending on the state and whether the violation was on purpose.
Liquidated Damages
If an employer breaks the FLSA and cannot show good faith, a court may order them to pay workers double the unpaid wages.
Statutory Penalties
Some state laws add extra penalties for each day or each violation of wage laws. These penalties can increase the total amount you may recover, depending on your state.
Interest
Some states allow workers to collect interest on unpaid wages and other damages. Whether this applies, and how much, depends on state law and your situation.
Attorney Fees and Cost
Under the FLSA, workers who win their case may be able to recover attorney fees and legal costs from the employer. Josephson Dunlap only gets paid if you recover money.
Injunctive Relief
In some cases, courts can order an employer to stop breaking wage laws. They may also award money to workers. This can protect both current workers and future workers. This can help make an impact that goes beyond just the case.
What This Means For You
The full value of a claim can sometimes exceed the unpaid wages alone. Sometimes state penalties, liquidated damages, and interest can be added in, on top of what you could be owed. A worker who is missing $5,000 in overtime over 3 years could have a claim worth more depending on the state law, and if the attorney can prove that the employer did it on purpose. The only way to know is to have an experienced attorney review it. Our reviews are free!
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no cost. We offer free and confidential case reviews to help you understand your options. We do not charge any upfront legal fees. We only receive attorney fees if we win a financial recovery for you.
Getting started is straightforward. You can fill out our secure online form or call our office directly. A case manager will review your job details, look for qualifying wage violations, and let you know whether you may have a claim. This initial review is free and takes only a few minutes.
Federal and state laws prohibit employers from punishing or terminating workers for reporting wage violations or participating in a legal claim. This type of unfair treatment is called retaliation, and it is illegal. If your employer takes adverse action against you, our firm can advise you on your rights.
No. Your initial consultation with our firm is private and confidential. We will not contact your employer or notify them that you spoke with us. You can check your eligibility and learn about your rights without your employer's knowledge.
You canno legally sign away your right to overtime pay. While an arbitration agreement could affect how the claim is resolved and handled, it does not eliminate your right to legally recover what could be owed to you. An attorney can review the agreement and let you know what your options are.
How Our Wage Recovery Process Works
Start your free, no-risk case review in about 10 minutes.
Submit Your Secure Form
Tell us about your missing pay through our confidential online form. We will review your details and follow up within 24 hours. Need answers right away? Call (888) 992-2990.
Get Your Free Consultation
A case manager will spend about 10 minutes reviewing your situation, looking for qualifying violations like unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, or regular rate errors. Clear advice, no obligation.
We Build Your Case
If you have a valid claim, we get to work right away. Our team handles the paperwork, gathers the evidence, and builds a legal strategy suited to your situation.
We Recover Your Wages
Once we have the facts, our legal team pursues the full amount you are owed. You receive updates throughout the process and pay nothing out of pocket. Attorney fees are collected only if we win.
Find Out If You Could Be Owed Back Wages
Our reviews are free, confidential, and take about 10 minutes. A member of our team will follow up with you within 24 hours.