What are my rights to be paid for work that I perform?
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What are my rights to be paid for work that I perform?
I work 2 jobs; 1 full-time for 40 hours a week and 1 bartending 1 night a week and running trivia the other night. I have been bartending for 10 years there and running trivia for 7. I have not gotten paid a check or wages for any of the time worked 40ish weeks a year X 7 years, plus the time it takes me to come up with the questions for the trivia. I do get a few drinks on the house while i’m doing it but that’s all. I mentioned i wanted to get a fair wage for doing the trivia, however the owner will not pay me. If I
Asked on September 21, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
If you are paid a salary, then the weekly salary is your only pay for all work you do for this employer.
If paid an hourly wage, you must be paid for all hours worked for this employer, whether it's one job or task or set of duties or another, and must be paid overtime for all time worked in a week past 40 hours. If you are hourly and have not been paid for all work done, you could file a complaint with the department of labor or file a lawsuit against the employer. You could potentially get back wages and overtime for the time you can prove you worked. Note that you generally cannot go more than two years back on a wage claim, however, so you won't be able to recover for all 7 years.
If you refuse to do work that the employer wants, you may be fired; if you don't have a written employment contract, you are an "employee at will" and may be fired at any time, for any reason.
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