Minimum Wage Attorney Columbus Ohio
Minimum Wage Cases in Columbus, Ohio
A federal law called the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires each state to enforce a minimum wage law. Under the law, an employer in Ohio that does not fulfill its legal obligation to pay employees at least the minimum wage can be sued for back pay and monetary damages.
Succeeding with such a case requires obtaining and analyzing months or years of time-sheets, as well as gathering other types of evidence. This makes hiring an experienced Columbus minimum wage attorney a good idea for any worker who believes their employer failed to pay them minimum wage for all the hours they worked.
Which Employees Must Be Paid at Least the Minimum Wage in Ohio?
With almost no exceptions, each full and part-time hourly employee of any business must be paid the minimum wage or more. Independent contractors, managers, workers who receive salaries, people who do outside sales and receive commissions, live-in caregivers, and volunteers are not legally entitled to insist on a minimum wage.
What Is the Minimum Wage in Ohio?
During 2020, Ohio set a minimum wage of $8.70 per hour for most employees. This is sometimes called the basic wage. Additionally, individuals who get paid at or near the minimum wage are eligible to earn overtime pay after working more than 40 hours during a 7-day workweek.
The state also set a minimum wage of $4.35 per hour for employees who receive tips. So-called tipped employees include bartenders, wait staff, and dog walkers. Tipped employees are eligible to earn overtime.
By Ohio minimum wage law, employers must ensure that a tipped employee makes at least $8.70 per hour when the employee’s hourly pay and tips are added together and divided by the number of hours worked. Any resulting difference between this calculated tipped wage and the minimum wage must be paid by the employer.
How Do Employers Violate Minimum Wage Laws?
As Columbus minimum wage lawyers, we have seen employers do all of the following:
- Never tell employees they are eligible for the minimum wage
- Misclassify employees as managers or independent contractors
- Switch employees from hourly status to salary
- Steal tips or improperly pool tips with individuals who are not “tipped” employees
- Tell tipped employees they only work for tips
- Falsify timesheets
- Make working unpaid overtime a condition of keeping a job
What Legal Options Do Employees Have When They Don’t Get Paid Minimum Wage?
Any worker who believes their employer is denying them the minimum wage or earned overtime has the undeniable right to raise this concern with their manager, talk to coworkers about it, and contact a minimum wage attorney in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio minimum wage law and the FLSA make it illegal for employers to fire, bully, or punish workers who ask about pay practices. Victims of retaliation by managers can file lawsuits over that in addition to seeking unpaid wages and overtime.
Employees also have the option of joining with their coworkers to take collective action against their employer. Doing this helps many victims of illegal pay practices, and showing a pattern of minimum wage violations can make it easier to win a case.
Contact Our Minimum Wage Attorney in Columbus, Ohio
If you would like to discuss a potential minimum wage case, contact Columbus minimum wage attorney online or call us at 614.610.9755. The consultation will be free, and all of the information you share will be kept strictly confidential.
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