In many workplaces, the holiday season is the busiest time of year. If your job typically gets harder around the holidays, it is important to know how to protect your rights as an employee in Ohio. You have the right to take legal action against your employer for any type of wage or hour violation that occurs during this bustling time of year.
One of the most common ways employers take advantage of employees during the holidays is through unpaid overtime. Employers may have the expectation that employees will show up early, stay late and work longer shifts than usual to keep up with the holiday rush. If so, employees must be properly and adequately paid for this work.
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state laws in Ohio, employers are legally required to pay employees time-and-a-half for every hour worked over 40 hours in a single workweek. If you make bonuses or commissions at your job, your overtime rate must reflect this additional pay. Failing to pay you for all hours worked in the proper amount is a legal violation that could entitle you to financial compensation.
Many companies outsource additional workers to make up for the extra work around the holiday season. It is important to understand the distinction between an employee and an independent contractor if you pick up seasonal work. If legal standards make you an employee on paper, you deserve an employee’s benefits. Being misclassified as an independent contractor could rob you of certain benefits you are owed by law, such as overtime pay, paid time off and health insurance.
If your job requires you to travel, including local drives to run job-related errands around the holidays, you are legally owed payment for your travel time. Your employer must pay you for time spent traveling during normal work hours. However, you are not owed wages for your commute to or from work.
Various forms of workplace discrimination can arise in a workplace over the holidays. If you observe certain religious ceremonies or rites during this time of year, for example, denying time off requests or failure to make reasonable accommodations, is a form of religious discrimination.
You could also face discrimination in the form of denied medical leave or pregnancy leave around the holidays due to a “no time off requests” policy during the holidays. If you are a victim of discrimination, you can hold your employer accountable for their wrongdoing by filing a claim or a lawsuit.
While paid rest and meal breaks are not a legal requirement in Ohio, if unpaid breaks are provided, they must be true breaks. An employer cannot ask you to work during this time without properly compensating you. If you must work in any capacity during an unpaid break over the holidays, make sure it is counted as hours worked for the pay period.
Retaliation is the unlawful practice of an employer taking adverse employment action against a worker who has come forward with a complaint about a legal or ethical violation. If you reported any type of discrimination or filed a wage and hour claim during the holiday season and were fired as a result, for example, you would likely have grounds for a second case against the company for retaliation.
If you are a victim of any type of wage or hour violation during the holidays this year, don’t hesitate to contact Scott & Winters Law Firm, LLC for a free review of your case and legal rights.
