FAQ on Employee Wage and Hour Rights

Employee remuneration and wage and hour legislation are often asked questions.

Questions

Can my employer pay me less than the minimum wage if I get tips?
Is my employer compelled to compensate me for time spent on mandated training?
Can my boss make me clock out when I take a break?
Can my business pay the federal minimum wage if the minimum wage in my state is higher?
How much of my salary may be deducted in order to pay child support?
Can my boss make me pay for a work uniform with the company’s name and emblems on it?
Is it legal for me to work extra hours?

Can my employer pay me less than the minimum wage if I get tips?

The amount of money you earned in tips and the regulations of your state determine whether your employer may pay you less than the minimum wage when you earn tips. In general, an employer must pay the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25 per hour) or the state’s minimum wage to all workers covered by state and federal wage and hour regulations, whichever is greater.

However, the law becomes more complicated if you get tips. Under federal law, an employer may pay a lesser minimum wage—only $2.13 per hour—if the employee consistently earns at least $30 in tips each month. However, the employer may only do so if the worker’s earnings plus tips total at least the minimum wage for each hour worked. If the worker earns less than the minimum wage even after tips are included in, the employer must make up the difference.

Employers in several places, including California, are not permitted to pay tipped workers less than the minimum wage. In addition, several states compel companies to give tipped workers a greater hourly salary, while it is still less than the state or federal minimum wage.

Read our articles on State Laws for Tipped Employees to learn about the restrictions that apply to employees who receive tips in your state. See Tips, Tip Pooling, and Tip Credits: An Introduction for additional information. What Service Employees Should Be Aware Of.

Is my employer compelled to compensate me for time spent on mandated training?

Yes. If you are compelled to attend a training program as part of your job, you must be compensated for your time. For example, if your firm requires all new workers to attend orientation or existing employees to take sexual harassment training, that time must be compensated. If you must travel to attend an offsite training session, you must be compensated for your travel time. For more information on your rights to be compensated for time spent not working, see

Can my boss make me clock out when I take a break?

Your entitlement to be compensated for break time is determined by state legislation, the duration of your break, and what you do during your break.

A few jurisdictions compel companies to give paid breaks, which are generally ten minutes for every four hours worked. If your state does not mandate paid breaks, your employer is not required to compensate you for this time unless:

You must work through your break if it is less than 20 minutes long.

Can my business pay the federal minimum wage if the minimum wage in my state is higher?

No. Employees are generally entitled to the protections afforded by any employment laws that apply to them, whether federal, state, or municipal. If more than one law applies to a circumstance, the employer must apply the legislation that gives the employee with the greatest benefit or protection. This implies that your company must pay the highest applicable minimum wage rather than the lowest. You are entitled to the higher state minimum wage if your state mandates companies to pay a wage greater than the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25).

How much of my salary may be deducted in order to pay child support?

The amount of your income that may be garnished to pay child support is determined by whether you are presently supporting another spouse and/or kid in addition to the child who is the subject of the child support order. If this is the case, up to 50% of your disposable income (what remains after obligatory deductions) may be garnished and given to the child’s other parent. If you are not already supporting someone, child support may be deducted at up to 60% of your disposable income. These sums are more than the restrictions imposed for the majority of other forms of pay garnishments (for student loans or lawsuit judgments, for example).

Can my boss make me pay for a work uniform with the company’s name and emblems on it?

In part, it is determined by the laws of your state. Employers may force workers to purchase a uniform and pay to have it cleaned under federal law, as long as the employee is still earning at least the minimum wage after these fees are deducted. However, several states have diverse perspectives on the matter. Some states prohibit companies from charging workers for uniforms at all. Others let firms to charge for a uniform only if it may also be worn on the street – and an outfit printed with the company’s branding does not qualify.

To understand more about the charges that your company may pass on to you,

There are a few things to look into to see whether you are eligible for overtime compensation. First, determine if your employer is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and/or the wage and hour laws of your state. Because the scope of these regulations is so wide, your employer is almost certainly required to comply with them.

The next stage is to determine if you are a “exempt” or “nonexempt” employee under these statutes. If you are exempt, you do not have the right to overtime compensation; if you are not exempt, you do have the right to overtime pay.

You may be an exempt employee who is not entitled to overtime compensation if you habitually use discretion, oversee other workers, or make high-level judgments. You must be paid on a salary and earn at least $684 per week to qualify as a “administrative, executive, or professional” employee free from overtime under the legislation. Furthermore, you must spend the majority of your time on tasks that need the exercise of your own discretion and independent judgment. Each exception has its own set of conditions.

Furthermore, many sorts of employees are not eligible to overtime pay. Some of the more prevalent occupations that do not qualify for overtime include:

Outside salespeople (that is, employees who customarily and regularly work away from the employer’s business, selling or taking orders to sell goods and services) independent contractors volunteers certain computer specialists (such as systems analysts, programmers, and software engineers) who earn at least $27.63 per hour employees of seasonal amusement or recreational businesses, such as ski resorts or county fairs newspaper deliverers (but this exception does not include those who provide nursing care, or to personal and home care aides who perform a variety of domestic services).

If you don’t manage people or make critical corporate decisions, and you don’t work in an area that isn’t eligible for overtime, you’re generally entitled to overtime compensation if you work more than 40 hours per week or, in certain jurisdictions, more than eight hours per day.

If you haven’t been paid for needed training or overtime, have been misclassified as an independent contractor, or have any employment-related legal concern, you should speak with an employment attorney to explore your legal alternatives.