If I was paid less than minimum wage, what can I do?
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If I was paid less than minimum wage, what can I do?
I was working for a day rate of $85 and expected to work 60+ hours a week. I earned $425 a week which averages out to about $7.08 hour.
Asked on November 23, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You can either sue the employer for the money you should have been paid, and/or contact the state department of labor, file a complaint, and see if they will take action on their behalf. Either way, you are legally entilted to be paid at least minimum wage (e.g. federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour), and to also be paid overtime, or time-and-a-half, for all hours worked past 40 in a week, unless you were exempt from overtime; based on what you write, however, it is almost impossible that you would have been exempt, and so you likely should have earned overtime, too.
This means that for a 60 hour week, the minimum you should be paid is 40 hours at $7.25, or $290; plus 20 hours at time-and-half, or $217.50, $507.50 per week.
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