Federal regulations in the US provide the rules governing how employees are paid according to the law. These federal regulations were put in place to safeguard workers from unethical behavior. As long as they don’t conflict with federal legislation, states are free to create their own additional regulations.
The US Department of Labor (DOL) released new overtime compensation regulations on January 1, 2020. More than a million Americans will benefit from these rules by receiving overtime pay. One of the significant adjustments was raising the starting income threshold for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemptions.
Additionally, it enhanced the yearly compensation requirement. It allowed employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses or incentive payments to meet the exempt executive, administrative, and professional workers’ minimum salary requirements.
The FLSA does not specify the maximum number of hours that may be worked in a given workweek. Different workweeks can be created for certain employees or workforce groups, though. The company and employees cannot agree to waive the overtime requirement.
Additionally, an employer cannot forbid an employee from working overtime or demand advance approval for any overtime work.
If the overtime work is covered under the FLSA, the employer cannot refuse to pay the employees; they are entitled to their wages. The average hourly rate obtained from the wages worked for during the workweek must be used to determine overtime pay. The pay basis may be a commission, salary, or piece rate.
Finally, it changed the specific pay scales for those employed in the film and US territories. Though rules differ from state to state, understanding the minimum wage and overtime compensation regulations that apply locally is still a good idea.
Paycheck laws in North Carolina state that an employer must pay its employees at least the minimum wage for all hours worked, and time and one-half overtime pay based on an employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek unless the employee is exempt for some reason.
When Must Paychecks Be Sent Out?
The state of North Carolina mandates monthly employee payments. Payday must be scheduled, but it can occur weekly, daily, sporadically during the week, irregularly throughout the month, or every month. Bonuses and commissions, which are not considered wages, may be paid annually or more frequently as the employee sees fit.
What Happens When Your Paycheck Is Late?
In general, taking action is usually not worth your time and effort if your pay is only a few days late and it doesn’t happen frequently. However, you should seek legal advice if your pay is consistently late or is so far behind schedule that you are unsure if you will be able to pay your bills when they are due.
To recover your late paychecks, you might be able to file a claim against your employer with the state labor office.
Additionally, you have the option of suing your employer in civil court to recover the debt. In any case, in addition to your unpaid salary, you might also be entitled to liquidated damages and court expenses.
What Happens If You Are Fired?
Employers in North Carolina are not required to pay a terminated employee right away. To distribute the terminated employee’s last paycheck, they can hold off until the following regular pay period. Contrary to certain states, this is true in every circumstance, including when employees leave of their own volition or decline to work because of a labor dispute.
Any unpaid commissions or bonuses must be paid by the following normal pay period. Employees who have been fired must receive the full commission or bonus they are due.
Can Your Paycheck Be Garnished?
When required by law, a paycheck can be withheld in North Carolina. Your paycheck may be withheld if you owe money for things like child support, civil penalties, taxes, or defaulted debts, depending on what a judge decides. Therefore, any entity wishing to garnish the employee’s income must file a formal legal request in court.
An employer may withhold or deduct money from an employee’s paycheck if they notify them in writing and provide them seven days’ notice.
When permitted by federal law, an employer may also withhold or deduct money from an employee’s paycheck, as long as the employee gives their consent first. The employee cannot, however, have their compensation reduced to the point of receiving less than the minimum wage by the employer’s deductions.
Watch out if you owe the IRS money: The organization doesn’t need a court order before taking a sizable portion of your wages. The amount you keep is determined by your standard deduction amount and the number of dependents you have.
Your employer will only pay you the bare minimum each week; the rest will be given to the IRS. Your employer is required to provide you with a copy of the wage levy notification that the IRS is required to send. You can fill out and submit the exemption claim form that is included with the notice.
State and municipal tax authorities may also withhold a portion of your wages. However, the taxation authority’s amount is constrained by law in many states.
You might be able to object to the garnishment if a judgment creditor is attempting to deduct money from your paycheck.
However, in most cases, the procedure for contesting a garnishment starts with creating and submitting documents.
You should include a statement in your written objection if you think that federal or state law exempts all or a portion of your profits. Depending on the specifics, you might also be able to claim that you’ve previously made a payment to the judgment creditor or that you were granted a bankruptcy discharge.
You should find instructions on how to object to the garnishment in the garnishment documents that you receive from the court. If this information is missing from the garnishment papers you got, get in touch with the court clerk who issued them right once to learn more.
The garnishment notice will typically come with a form on which you can express your objection and ask for a hearing. Ask the court clerk who sent you the garnishment notice for a form if you didn’t receive one. Write out your objection and submit it on time if the court doesn’t have a form for it. You may have given up the chance to challenge the garnishment in the future if you fail to provide a written justification for your objection to the garnishment and fail to timely file that objection with the appropriate court.
You must appear at the hearing if the court schedules one in order to defend your right to your earnings. Your objection will either be accepted (or “sustained”) by the judge or magistrate, in which case the garnishment will be reduced or stopped, or it will be overruled, in which case the garnishment will continue.
By declaring bankruptcy, you might be able to prevent pay garnishment or exclude your salary from it.
Can You Recover a Withheld Paycheck?
An employer can withhold a paycheck from an employee or not pay them at all. A second possibility is that an employer will underpay an employee for their work hours.
The employee may deduct the cost of uniforms that an employer forces an employee to wear while on the job. The deductions may be unlawful if they result in an hourly wage that is less than the federal minimum wage.
Employers may refuse to pay workers by neglecting to give them the overtime compensation to which they are legally entitled under federal law.
Unfortunately, wage fraud and illegal withholding of pay are frequent issues. Employees should be aware of their legal rights under local, state, and federal laws surrounding withheld paychecks.
Employers are prohibited from deducting employees’ wages in violation of both federal and state payroll rules. Employees have the right to file a labor complaint if an employer has improperly withheld their employees’ salaries. The United States Department of Labor or the state’s labor department may receive the complaint in the employee’s home state. If the complaint is upheld, the employee may be entitled to the money that was wrongfully withheld in compensation.
Payroll withholding remedies must be brought in civil court. You can reclaim your withheld salary by using an attorney to help you build a strong case. A wage claim needs to be made, and an employment attorney will know how to complete the necessary paperwork and file the claim on your behalf.
Where Can You Find the Right Lawyer?
If you believe your paycheck was delayed, you should speak with a North Carolina employment lawyer immediately to learn more about your legal options. They can provide you with advice and guidance for your claim.
