Employment Law

The Holiday Season and Wage and Hour Violations Part 1

Many employers are looking for capable workers during the holiday season who can help their company during the busiest time of the year. According to the National Retail Federation, retail sales should see a growth of over four percent this holiday season with total spending from consumers expected to surpass $700 billion. Naturally, with retail businesses experiencing such a consistent growth in sales every holiday season, these businesses require more and more seasonal or temporary workers.

As Tampa wage and hour attorneys, it’s important that you, a friend, or a loved one knows that regardless of your job status (full-time, part-time, or temporary), you are entitled to accurate compensation for your professional services. In this two-part series, a Tampa wage and hour attorney will discuss some of the ways that employers violate wage and hour laws during the holiday season. In the second section, we will cover some common questions that temporary workers may have.

Common Wage and Hour Violations for Temporary Workers

With the holiday rush, many employers have to scramble to find qualified employees to fill temporary positions. Whether deliberate or accidental, sometimes employers violate federal and state laws during the holidays. Here are some ways wage and hour laws are commonly broken:

• No overtime: During the holiday season, temporary employees are often needed to work from opening to close. In many cases, these workers work over 40 hours per week. When this happens, employees are legally entitled to be compensated at time-and-a-half overtime for each additional hour they worked past 40 hours.
• No timesheets: With hectic hours and a lot of seasonal workers coming and going, if the employer doesn’t have a good management system in place, many employers will not be fully compensated for their hours worked because there was no system for keeping accurate timesheets in place.
• Additional tasks: Temporary workers can be taken advantage of when requested to perform additional tasks off-the-clock like cleaning up or closing out the register. Although the employer may claim that these tasks don’t count towards the daily schedule, the worker should be compensated for all their time worked.    
• Zero breaks: Although there is no federal law for meal breaks and other short breaks, in some cases, the worker may be expected to work through lunch breaks. Pay should never be deducted from a break if the worker is required to perform a work-related task like answering the phones or sitting at a front desk welcoming guests.         

If you would like to speak with one of our Tampa wage and hour attorneys, please contact us today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.