(Are you paid for all hours worked?)
THE cheer squad for the Oakland Raiders, the Raiderettes, recently sued their employer for back wages and reimbursements. The lawsuit claims that the football team withholds pay from the employees until after the football season is finished and does not pay for hours worked outside the games. The cheerleaders allegedly pay for many items related to their work such as hairstyling, makeup, travelling, photo shoots, which are controlled by the employer.
No matter how glamorous the job looks, one can never tell whether the workers are being paid properly for all of their hours worked. Several studies by non-profit organizations have continually pointed out that employment violations involving minimum wage, overtime, and off-the-clock work (categorized as wage theft) victimize workers regardless of race, gender, age, or immigrant status.
How can workers protect themselves? By being able to recognize when wage theft is perpetrated against them. First, employees who are “on the clock” know that the employer must pay for work performed during this time. However, there are situations where it is not quite clear whether a work-related activity performed by an employee outside the regular 8-hour framework would still be compensable.
For example, the Raiderettes claimed that they spent several hours practicing as directed by their employer prior to the games. But they are not paid for the time they spent doing these. They are paid only when they appear during the games.
In California, time spent by an employee performing activities that are controlled by and for the benefit of the employer is considered “work time” and must be paid by the employer. These activities include “off-the-clock” time spent performing job-related activities which benefit the employer. If the employer knows (or should have known) that the employee is working, and allows the employee to do it, the employer will be responsible for paying for work time.
The following are other situations when wage theft are likely occurring:
Manipulating timekeeping devices to reflect only the hours that employees are scheduled to work and ignoring any preliminary or postliminary work-related activities that employees perform. Preparing their tools, or making reports after clocking out will fall into this category.
Misclassifying employees as independent contractors. Employers who control and dictate the manner and method of how workers should do their job but still classify these workers as “independent contractors” are likely trying to deprive these workers of their rights to minimum wage, and overtime, among other things.
Paying employees per piece rate. There is nothing wrong with paying employees per piece of work that they accomplish. However, if they are made to work more than 8 hours per day, they are still entitled to be paid correctly for their overtime work.
Rounding down practices. Somewhat similar to off-the-clock work, rounding down practices involve manipulation of the employee’s hours. For example, if the employee clocked out at 5:15pm, the employer may round this down to 5pm, disregarding the extra 15 minutes worked. Fifteen minutes may not be a lot, but if it happens several days a week for several years, the amount of overtime the employee is owed may be significant.
Not providing meal or rest breaks to employees. Employers may tell employees they are entitled to a 30-minute lunch break or a 10-minute rest break but employees are not provided an opportunity to take these breaks. Employers may not provide relievers, or may interrupt employees during their breaks. These are all against the law and entitle employees to additional wages.
There may be other situations where wage theft occurs. If an employee feels that they are not compensated for all of the work they do, it would be wise for that employee to consult with a knowledgeable employment attorney. For fairness to prevail in the workplace, an employer may not accept the benefits of work performed by its employees without paying their wages due.
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The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. Atty. Sayas’ Law Office is located at 500 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 980, Glendale, CA 91203. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against employers and insurance companies. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.
