A VOLUNTEER'S GUIDE TO

SPOTTING WAGE AND

HOUR ISSUES
STOLEN WAGES

the MINIMUM WAGE

Basically:hastheworkerbeenpaidforall
hoursworked?
Issuestolookoutfor:notpaidforbreaks
shorterthan30min,notpaidforlunches
whereworkerisstillperformingsomejob
tasks,finalpaycheckneverpaidto
worker,notpaidforpreptimebeforejob
dutiesbegin,notpaidfortraveltimeiftravel
ispartofjobduties
Remember:paystubsaren'talwaystruthful

Chicago'sminimumwageis$10/hourfor
almostallworkers
Thisiscalculatedperweek.Everysingle
week,thehourlyratepaidtoaworkermust
atleastbe$10/hour.Anemployerpayingthe
minimumwagemostweeksstillisn'tenough
Tippedworkersmustrecieve$5.45/hourplus
tips,andtheirtotalhourlyratemustbeat
least$10/hour
Paymentsmustbemadeontime

OVERTIME
Aworkermustbepaidtimeandahalffor
hoursworkedafter40hoursintheweek
Thisiscalculatedseparatelyforeach
week.Ifanemployeeworks30hoursone
weekand50hoursthenext(averaging40
overtwoweeks),theyarestillentitledto
10hoursofovertimepayforweek2
Justbecauseaworkerissalarieddoes
NOTimmediatelymeantheyarenot
entitledtoovertime.Wewanttohear
aboutthesecases,too

MISCLASSIFICATION
Employersoftenincorrectlylabelemployees
as"independentcontractors"toavoid
compliancewithwageandhourlaws
Ask:whocontrolsanddirectsthemeans
andmannerinwhichtheworkis
performed?Whosetstheworker'shoursand
rateofpay?Whoprovidesthe
equipment/materials?Iftheemployerdoes,
theworkerislikelycoveredbywageandhour
lawsandprobablyhasawage/hourissue

IF YOU SPOT A WAGE/HOUR ISSUE:

RefertheclienttoattorneyMonicaGhosheitherbyfillingoutthewage
theftgoogleformorbyprovidinghernumber(3122023659)oremail
(mghosh@clccrul.org)directlytotheclient.Theycanalsoattendafreewage
andhourclinicattheJohnMarshallLawSchool,locatedat315S.PlymouthCt
(State&Jacksonentrance),Mondays58p.m.