What Are My Basic Wage Rights
In most cases you have the following basic wage rights:
· You have a right to be paid the wages or pay you were promised.
· You have a right to get paid on time.
· You have a right to approve deductions taken from your pay.
· You have a right to be paid at least the minimum wage of $5.15 per hour.
· You have a right to be paid overtime pay for hours you work above 40 hours in a week.
· You have a right to get paid a special "prevailing wage rate" on certain government contract jobs
· You have a right not to suffer wage discrimination on account of your race, color, national origin, gender, or religion.
· You have right not to suffer wage discrimination because you made a complaint about your wages or your employment rights
The right to be paid what you were promised
· Do I have a right to be paid what I was promised?
Yes. If a person promises to pay you a certain wage for your work and you do the agreed work - or communicate to the employer that you agree to do the work - then you have a binding contract. The person must pay what he/she promised.
· Does a wage agreement have to be in writing?
No. In most cases a contract can be verbal or in writing. It is usually easier to prove what your agreement was, if it is in writing. So get it in writing, if you can. But you can also prove what your agreement was through your own testimony or testimony of other witnesses.
· Does it matter whether I am an employee or an independent contractor?
Yes. You do have a right to get paid what you were promised whether you are an employee or an independent contractor. But many of the other wage rights listed below (like minimum wage and overtime), protect only employees but not independent contractors. For more information about whether you are an employee or an independent contractor, look at the information on this website under "Employees vs. Independent Contractors."
· If I am an undocumented immigrant, do I have a right to get paid what was promised?
Yes. Even if you are not legally authorized to work in the United States, a person or business you work for still has to pay you the wages you were promised for any work you actually performed. In fact all of the wage rights mentioned in this section apply equally to undocumented workers. In almost all cases undocumented workers have the same employment rights as citizens and documented immigrants. This is necessary to make sure that dishonest employers are not allowed to hire undocumented workers for the purpose of exploiting them.
· Where can I get help if I wasn't paid what was promised?
If you can't resolve the problem directly with the person who was supposed to pay you, and you are an employee, you can seek help from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) or from a lawyer or legal aid program. If you are an independent contractor you need to get help from a lawyer or legal aid program; the TWC cannot handle your claim.
Your right to get paid on time
· How often am I supposed to get paid to get paid?
If you are an employee, the law says you must be paid on the regular payday that the employer has announced. In most cases the payday has to be at least twice a month. In a few cases, workers only have to be paid at least once a month. This once-a-month rule only to employees who are exempt from the federal overtime laws
· How often am I supposed to get paid if my employer has not announced a regular payday?
If the employer has not set and announced a regular payday, you must be paid on the 1st and the 15th of each month.
· If I quit my job, when am I supposed to get my pay?
If you leave your job for any reason other than being fired, your pay is due on the next regularly scheduled payday.
· If I am fired or laid off, when am I supposed to get paid?
If you are discharged from your employment, your employer must pay you at least by the sixth day after you are discharged.
· When do I get paid, if I am absent from work on the regular payday?
If you are not present at work on the regular payday, your employer must pay you on the next business day that you ask for your pay.
· Where can I get help if I wasn't paid on time?
If you can't resolve the problem directly with the person who was supposed to pay you, and you are an employee, you can seek help from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) or from a lawyer or legal aid program. If you are an independent contractor you need to get help from a lawyer or legal aid program; the TWC cannot handle your claim.
Your right to approve deductions from your pay
· What deductions can be taken out of my pay?
An employer can deduct payroll taxes (like FICA taxes and income withholding taxes) from your pay - as long as the employer actually sends your taxes in to government in the proper manner. An employer can also deduct wages, if ordered by a court to do so. Any other deductions have to be approved by you in writing.
· Can an employer take other deductions from my pay that I don't agree to?
No. Except for taxes and court-ordered deductions, an employer cannot take any other deductions from your pay, unless you clearly agree to the deduction in writing. You should carefully examine documents your employer asks you to sign to see whether your are agreeing to any deductions.
· Where can I get help if improper deductions were taken from my pay?
If you can't resolve the problem directly with the person who was supposed to pay you, and you are an employee, you can seek help from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) or from a lawyer or legal aid program. If you are an independent contractor you need to get help from a lawyer or legal aid program; the TWC cannot handle your claim.
Your right to get paid the minimum wage
· How much is the minimum wage.
The current minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, under both federal and Texas law.
· Am I entitled to get paid the minimum wage?
Almost all workers have a right to receive the minimum wage, under either federal law or Texas law.
· Am I entitled to be paid the minimum wage, even if I am not paid by the hour?
Yes. However you get paid - by the week, twice a month, by the job, or on a piece rate - you still have to get paid enough to add up to at least the minimum wage for each hour you work
· Where can I find out more about my minimum wage rights?
There is a whole section on this website devoted to "Your Minimum Wage Rights." You can get more detailed information there.
Your right to get paid overtime pay
· What is overtime pay?
Federal law says most workers must be paid at least time and a half their regular rate of pay for each hour they work over 40 hours in a week. Texas has no overtime law, even though most other states do.
· What is an example of how overtime pay works?
If your regular pay rate is $8.00 an hour and you worked 50 hours in a week, then you must be paid $8.00 an hour for the first 40 hours in the week, plus $12.00 an hour (that is, time and a half $8.00) for the extra 10 hours you worked that week.
· Are all workers covered by the overtime pay law?
Almost all employees have a right to receive overtime pay, but there are some exceptions in the law. The major exceptions are for: farm workers; supervisors who are paid more than $455.00 a week and have the power to hire and fire; and some employees in small local businesses.
· Am I entitled to be paid the minimum wage, even if I am not paid by the hour?
Yes. However you get paid - by the week, twice a month, by the job, or on a piece rate - you still have to get paid enough to add up to at least the required overtime pay for each week you work more than 40 hours.
· Where can I find out more about my overtime wage rights?
There is a whole section on this website devoted to "Your Right to Overtime Pay" You can get more detailed information there.
Your right to be paid the "prevailing wage rate" under certain government contracts
· If I am doing construction work on a project that involves the federal government am I am entitled to receive a special "prevailing wage rate."
In most cases yes. On construction projects in which the federal government is a party, the Davis-Bacon Act requires workers to receive a special "prevailing wage rate."
· Are there other laws setting required prevailing wage rates?
Yes, the Service Contract Act requires that prevailing wage rates be paid to service workers working under a federal contract. Depending on the location and the type of work, there may also some state and local prevailing wage laws that apply to contracts, especially construction contracts, to which the state or local government is a party.
· How much are these "prevailing wage rates?"
There are different prevailing wage rates states in the contract for each category of worker depending on the skill level and region where the work is being performed. The required wage rates are set high enough to match the standard wages and benefits paid to workers in that type of job in that particular region. For example, the required Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rate for a pipelayer on a construction project in Dallas County might be $7.91 per hour. The specific wage rates can be looked up in a chart online.
· Where can I get help protecting my right to receive the prevailing wage?
The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor enforces most of the federal prevailing wage laws. Local prevailing wage laws may be enforced by a department of local government. A union in that local area may also be able to help a worker who has not received the prevailing wage.
The right not to suffer wage discrimination on account of your race, color, national origin, gender, or religion
· Do I have a right to get paid the same as other similar employees?
Ordinarily, no - even if the wage difference is unfair.
· What if the reason for or the effect of the difference in wages is to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, or religion?
In that case, such wage discrimination is a form of illegal employment discrimination and an affected employee has a right to challenge the discrimination.
· Where can I get help protecting my right not to suffer wage discrimination?
You can seek help from an attorney or legal aid office, from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division. You can find out more about employment discrimination at the section on this website dealing with Employment Discrimination.
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