Recovery of Back Wages

Not that there is ever a good reason for employers to attempt to stiff their employees but during a harsh economic climate there is even more incentive than normal for employers to try and get away with less than ethical business practices.

One such practice is to withhold your last paycheck. No matter how the employer feels about you or the situation under which you quit.

Legally a business has no right to withhold your wages from you. If you are having trouble recovering your last paycheck then you need to know what your rights are.

Labor laws though sometimes difficult to understand or even find are important to be knowledgeable of for many reasons but especially when you are thinking about quitting a job.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments.

The Wage and Hour Division (Wage-Hour) administers and enforces FLSA with respect to private employment, State and local government employment, and Federal employees of the Library of Congress, U.S. Postal Service, Postal Rate Commission, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The FLSA is enforced by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for employees of other Executive Branch agencies, and by the U.S. Congress for covered employees of the Legislative Branch.

The FLSA is your protection from unethical business practices in regards to you wages. The FLSA is what allows you to get the wages that are coming to you.

Recovery of Back Wages

Listed below are methods which FLSA provides for recovering unpaid minimum and/or overtime wages.

(1) Wage-Hour may supervise payment of back wages.

(2) The Secretary of Labor may bring suit for back wages and an equal amount as liquidated damages.

(3) An employee may file a private suit for back pay and an equal amount as liquidated damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.

(4) The Secretary of Labor may obtain an injunction to restrain any person from violating FLSA, including the unlawful withholding of proper minimum wage and overtime pay.

An employee may not bring suit if he or she has accepted back wages under the supervision of Wage-Hour or if the Secretary of Labor has already filed suit to recover the wages. A 2-year statute of limitations applies to the recovery of back pay, except in the case of willful violation, in which case a 3-year statute applies.

Know your rights as a United States citizen. Your knowledge of US labor laws are your only protection because ignorance of the law is only going to benefit unethical businesses and hurt you as an employee.

More information on the legal issues regarding earnings can be found at the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division Home Page.