Walk It Through: The Short Paycheck
The federal rate, the last check by the next payday, and the district judge up to $12,000.
A line cook's first paycheck works out to less than the minimum wage for the hours on the time sheet.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One paycheck and one cook. Overtime, tipped wages, and a complaint to the Secretary of Labor and Industry are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Final wagesWages earned by an employee who is separated from the payroll, quits or resigns, due not later than the next regular payday on which they would otherwise have been paid.
- Liquidated damagesAn extra amount an employee may claim when wages stay unpaid for thirty days past the regular payday with no good faith dispute: twenty five percent of the wages due, or $500, whichever is greater.
- Magisterial district judgeThe court most people mean by small claims, which hears civil claims where the sum demanded is not more than $12,000, not counting interest and costs.