Recovery of Back Wages

Recordkeeping, Enforcement & Recovery of Back WagesThe recovery of back wages can be enforced because the FLSA requires employers to keep records on wages, hours, and other items, as specified in Department of Labor recordkeeping regulations. Most of the information is of the kind generally maintained by employers in ordinary business practice and in compliance with other laws and regulations. The records do not have to be kept in any particular form and time clocks need not be used. With respect to an employee subject to the minimum wage provisions or both the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions, the following records must be kept:

  1. personal information, including employee’s name, home address, occupation, sex, and birth date if under 19 years of age;
  2. hour and day when workweek begins;
  3. total hours worked each workday and each workweek;
  4. total daily or weekly straight-time earnings;
  5. regular hourly pay rate for any week when overtime is worked;
  6. total overtime pay for the workweek;
  7. deductions from or additions to wages;
  8. total wages paid each pay period; and
  9. date of payment and pay period covered.

Records required for exempt employees differ from those for nonexempt workers. Special information is required for homeworkers, for employees working under uncommon pay arrangements, for employees to whom lodging or other facilities are furnished, and for employees receiving remedial education.

Terms Used in FLSA

Workweek – A workweek is a period of 168 hours during 7 consecutive 24-hour periods. It may begin on any day of the week and at any hour of the day established by the employer. Generally, for purposes of minimum wage and overtime payment, each workweek stands alone; there can be no averaging of 2 or more workweeks. Employee coverage, compliance with wage payment requirements, and the application of most exemptions are determined on a workweek basis.

Hours Worked – Covered employees must be paid for all hours worked in a workweek. In general, “hours worked” includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer’s premises or at any other prescribed place of work, from the beginning of the first principal activity of the work day to the end of the last principal work activity of the workday. Also included is any additional time the employee is allowed (i.e., suffered or permitted) to work.

Enforcement

Wage-Hour’s enforcement of FLSA is carried out by investigators stationed across the U.S. As Wage-Hour’s authorized representatives, they conduct investigations and gather data on wages, hours, and other employment conditions or practices, in order to determine compliance with the law. Where violations are found, they also may recommend changes in employment practices to bring an employer into compliance.

It is a violation to fire or in any other manner discriminate against an employee for filing a complaint or for participating in a legal proceeding under FLSA.

Willful violations may be prosecuted criminally and the violator fined up to $10,000. A second conviction may result in imprisonment.

Violators of the youth employment provisions are subject to a civil money penalty of up to $11,000 for each employee who was the subject of a violation.

Employers who willfully or repeatedly violate the minimum wage or overtime pay requirements are subject to a civil money penalty of up to $1,100 for each such violation.

The FLSA prohibits the shipment of goods in interstate commerce which were produced in violation of the minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor, or special minimum wage provisions.

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.

We encourage you to complete our short CONFIDENTIAL contact form on the right side of this page or call us immediately at TOLL FREE 1.800.962.5152 for a FREE, no- obligation consultation of your potential wage and overtime claims.

Remember, when you need answers call on us.

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Based in Houston, The Sher Law Firm, PLLC, serves the needs of clients in complex environmental, oil and gas, personal injury and commercial litigation throughout Texas, including greater Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley, the Texas Panhandle, Midland/Odessa and Lubbock. We also handle litigation in other states through association with local counsel in California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.