Even though you trust your employer, you should take a close look at your pay stub every payday to make sure that your pay reflects the hours you worked. Some mistakes are unintentional, but many “mistakes” are designed to enhance the company’s bottom line. Here are some payroll issues to look out for when you receive your next paycheck.
Are You On-Call, Traveling or Waiting?
If you’re on-call at your workplace, or even at home, but you must stay available and respond within five minutes of a call, you should have compensation for your time. Travel between work sites is also a time that you should be compensated. Even waiting for work-related activities while on the job should be paid because it is time spent on the job.
Watch Out for Duality
Do you work at two different locations for the same company? Or maybe you work in two different capacities in your workplace. If you’re on a dual payroll, make sure that you’re not stiffed on payday. Frequent problems include not paying the overtime you rightly deserve, modifying your work hour total, so there appears to be less overtime or a refusal to pay overtime that you worked because you didn’t have formal approval to do it.
Catch Clumsy Classifications
As you’re looking at your paystub, do you see the words “exempt” or “contractor”? If you do, and you’re in an hourly position, it is likely that misclassification of your position makes you miss out on pay. If your payday is every other week, make sure that your employer has calculated your overtime weekly, as required by law, not over the course of two weeks.
If you’ve brought an inaccuracy in your pay to the attention of your employer and they refuse to address it and pay you what you’re owed, you have the right to consult with an attorney. Legal representation that is knowledgeable about the Fair Labor Standards Act will fight for your wage rights and can help recover lost wages.
