Indianapolis is full of people just like you who put in a hard day’s work to get the job done and earn an income to support their families. Sadly, some employers are more concerned about their bottom line rather than the good of their employees or thy may even want to pocket some cash for themselves. To do so, they may mistreat workers and try to underpay them for work done or even not pay them at all. Fortunately, if you are not paid for the work you have done, you have options.
Filing a claim with the Indiana Department of Labor
The first step to take if you employer does not pay you is to simply ask your employer why you did not get paid. Document your employer’s response. It may be a simple oversight, and your employer will pay you.
However, if you employer still refuses to pay you, you can fille a claim with the Indiana Department of Labor. Indiana law states that the Department of Labor can work with cases in which at least $30 is unpaid up to $6,000 in unpaid wages. The average time it takes to process a wage claim is less than 90 days. However, simply filing a wage claim does not always mean you will ultimately get paid.
Filing a lawsuit to recover what is owed
Alternately, you can work with an attorney to learn more about your options. Note that if you were fired or laid off, you must first file a claim with the Indiana Department of Labor before pursuing a lawsuit to recover what is owed to you. Wage and hour lawsuits are often based on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is the federal law that covers employee compensation. Some ways an employer can violate the FLSA are by failing to pay you the correct wage for the hours worked, refusing to pay overtime wages owed to you, categorizing you as an independent contractor rather than an employee to avoid providing you with benefits, refusing to pay you on time and sex discrimination via the Equal Pay Act.
Learn more about wage-and-hour violations
It is good to know that you have choices if you are facing a wage-and-hour violation. Some can be resolved by filing a claim with the Indiana Department of Labor. Other times, filing a lawsuit is the best way to regain what is owed to you. Knowing all your options can help you make sound decisions moving forward so you can be paid what you earned.
