The study also found the following: (1) 1 in 4 surveyed workers (26%) was paid below the minimum wage in a given work week; (2) 76% of
those who worked overtime were not paid the required time and a half; (3) 70% did not get any pay at all for work performed outside their regular shift (“offthe-clock work”); and (4) nearly one-third (30%) of tipped workers were not paid the tipped worker minimum wage.
If your employer pays you less than minimum wage, you can recover not only your unpaid wages, but also an award called “liquidated damages.” An award of liquidated damages is equal to the amount you are owed in unpaid wages. For example, if your employer failed to pay you $10,000 in minimum wage and overtime, you can receive an additional $10,000 as liquidated damages, for a total of $20,000.
You can also recover attorney fees. In other words, if it costs an employee $170,000 in attorney’s fees to litigate and prevail in her $6,000 FLSA action, you, as the employer, may suddenly be looking at a hefty amount of liability. See, Cain v. Almeco USA, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70900 (N.D. Ga. May 23, 2014).
