One of the more common wage errors employers make is failing to pay their employees minimum wage. Sometimes, employers intentionally avoid paying minimum wage. Other times, they make errors and mistakenly fail to pay workers all the wages they are entitled to. Either way, the error may be a violation of state or federal minimum wage law.
Ensuring workers are paid minimum wage is significant and important. Not only should workers be paid what they are entitled to, but paying an adequate wage also helps the local economy. Minimum wage workers spend their money primarily on necessities, which then puts money back into their community.
Failure to pay enough wages is such a common problem that recently even the State of Florida was cited for violating its own constitution for failing to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $7.31 an hour. According to the lawsuit, Florida failed to pay the higher wage due to bad accounting. Florida is one of a few states that adjusts its wage based on the cost of living and did not increase the minimum wage this year as it should.
Worker groups including a restaurant worker and three farm workers sued the Agency for Workplace Intervention, a State of Florida agency responsible for setting the wages. In what has been called a “victory for the state’s most vulnerable workers,” beginning next month the workers will see a six-cent raise in their paycheck.
For more information, or if you believe you have not been paid all the wages you are entitled to, please contact the Atlanta wage and hour law firm, The Buckley Law Firm, LLC, dedicated to ensuring workers receive all the compensation they deserve.