Douglasville FLSA Lawyer
The federal government has enacted laws called the Fair Labor Standards Acts (FLSA) that provide workers certain protections in the workplace. These include a minimum hourly wage, rules concerning overtime pay, and discrimination based upon a person’s sex.
These laws form a minimal baseline that all states are required to follow. Many states have enacted laws that extend these rights beyond the federal minimum. Georgia is not one of them. Still, people have the right to work with dignity for a fair wage. When these rights are violated workers have options to both recover any lost wages and hold their employers accountable.
Douglasville FLSA lawyers can represent clients in their cases against their employers for unfair wage practices. By working with you, a compassionate personal injury attorney restore dignity and financial stability to you, and all hard-working people.
Georgia’s Labor Laws
Georgia has passed no labor laws that expand workers’ rights as far as hourly wages are concerned. As a result, a Douglasville FLSA attorney must look to the federal government’s rules for these areas. Federal law states that:
- The hourly wage is to be paid at no less than $7.25 per hour. However, this does not apply to people working for tips, or for salaried employees
- For all hours worked in excess of 40 in a week, these hours are paid at 1.5x the hourly rate
- Employees cannot earn different hourly wages simply based on their sex
Georgia has enacted worker protections in one important area. It is illegal in Georgia to terminate, reduce wages, or otherwise negatively impact a worker’s job due to their age. This applies to all people over the age of 40 and under the age of 70 under Georgia Code 34-1-2.
Enforcing the Law
Despite Georgia passing some laws protecting against ageism in the workplace, there is no means to enforce these laws in Georgia’s courts. Instead, any person alleging a wage violation or discrimination in the workplace must do so in federal court. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the national government’s enforcement body for all allegations of discriminatory hiring and firing.
In order to take advantage of this process, an employee must file a formal complaint that contains:
- Where and when the discrimination happened
- The employee’s name
- The workplace’s name
- A brief statement about what happened
Process of Filing a Claim
Workers have only 180 days after the alleged incident to file the complaint. Once this is done, the EEOC will investigate the claim. If the EEOC decides that a discriminatory practice has occurred, the agency has the power to order compensation for the employee.
If the agency decides that no discrimination occurred, they will issue the complainant a right to sue form. This form allows people to initiate lawsuits in federal court on their own. If a person is interested in pursuing a case, they should get in touch with a Douglasville FLSA lawyer that can help them begin to build their case.
Options For Legal Action
For people who are alleging that their wages were illegally withheld, there are options.
First, the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor (DOL) may conduct an investigation in a similar manner to the EEOC. Once a complaint has been filed, the DOL may initiate a lawsuit on behalf of the employee in federal court.
The second option allows workers to take their claim directly to court. While this may move the case along quickly, plaintiffs in these cases may sacrifice the federal government’s investigatory powers.
How a Douglasville FLSA Attorney Can Help
Being a worker whose wages have been stolen can be a difficult situation. Everyone needs money to survive, but people may fear retaliation from employers if they file a complaint. Thankfully, federal law prohibits employers from retaliating against anyone who files a complaint and Douglasville FLSA lawyers are here to help people do just that.
Workers who have not been paid properly have the option of working with the federal government to file a lawsuit or may start the process themselves.
An experienced attorney will be familiar with this process and can represent clients from the filing of the complaint to the trial. People who have been discriminated against in the workplace also have options through the EEOC to set things right. Contact a Douglasville FLSA attorney to protect your rights as a worker and to hold cheating employers responsible for their actions.
