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Overtime Violations: Industries to Watch Out For

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Keeping up with every minute of time on payroll can become difficult for industries where overtime violations are common. When the job of payroll accounting is not delegated to one particular individual, employee pay can get lost. According to WageAdvocates.com every year thousands of employees realize that their employer has not paid them fairly when it comes to overtime pay.  Even though it is legal, to round time down from 1 to 7 minutes, this creates problems if used excessively.

Dangerous

Industries Facing The Most Violations

Although the software is designed to make things easier, wage theft still happens in many industries. This is not always done on purpose, but in some industries, this is the norm. The biggest culprits are industries hiring people on the lower spectrum of the wage scale:

  • Health care facilities ─ 73.6%
  • Textile industries ─ 71%
  • Manufacturing ─ 71%
  • Restaurants ─ 69.7%
  • Hotels ─ 69.7%
  • Home health care ─ 73.6%
  • Cleaning contractors ─ 69.7%
  • Personal repair industries ─ 91.8%



Many industries have an overtime violation rate of 70 to 90 percent with personal services being the highest. These employees work off the clock or have break time and tips deleted from payroll checks. Sometimes, employees are paid less than minimum wage. When the average person thinks of industries, where overtime violations are common, hired personnel is thought to be the guilty parties; but not so. The people in charge of managing the company’s time tracking are shorting employees of hard-earned money.

Being On The Wrong Side Of The Law

The Department of Labor deals with numerous lawsuits against companies accused of a lack of tracking time for payroll accountability correctly, either willingly or by accident. According to studies, over 76 percent of people work more than 40 hours a week yet, fail to receive adequate compensation that is owed them by law.

A company without proper analysis may not always reflect overtime problems. A strategy for many companies is to maintain a budget. If overtime adds up, then the company budget is pushed beyond the financial limits of the business.

Janitorial staff in hotels and private cleaning services are sometimes victims of wage theft. Companies have found themselves on the wrong side of the law in many instances. Lawsuits have cost companies in the millions for back wages. This might include mileage, tips, or double-time pay. Overtime violations happen regularly in:

  • Private households ─86.6%
  • Security services ─ 62.6%
  • Grocery stores ─ 65%
  • Ground services ─ 62.6%
  • Transportation services ─ 51.9%

Situations Where Overtime Occurs

Industries, where overtime violations are common, are not required to include vacation pay but must comply with working hour pay rules set by the Department of Labor. Seminars might be included in a worker’s pay if the following guidelines are not provided:

  • Attendance is in fact voluntary
  • The course, speech, or seminar is not directly linked to the employee’s job
  • Appearance is outside an employee’s regular working hours
  • The employee does not perform any productive work during such attendance

Personal households, hotels, and restaurants are exceptionally busy during the holiday season and may find a problem with overtime violations. Ultimately, savings add up quickly for employers when a staff of 10 people or more are hired. These funds accumulate into thousands of dollars; depending upon employee numbers. During busy shifts, restaurant employees may work through breaks, extend time on the job waiting on customers or take care of added tasks while actually off the clock. This may seem unimportant yet when employees are not paid for time worked, this is in violation of labor laws.

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03/25/2024 09:11 pm GMT

According to studies, out of 3,000 people, almost 2,700 have experienced some form of wage theft. This is a growing problem for both employees and employers. Governmental figures have initiated safeguards to protect workers. Therefore, employers must show care in adhering to guidelines in order to avoid litigation.



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