Overtime
- Straight time for hours over 40
- A flat weekly amount regardless of hours
- Hours split across two paychecks or two “companies”
- Bonuses and commissions left out of the overtime rate
PAY PROBLEMS WE HANDLE NEW YORK · NEW JERSEY · FLORIDA · FEDERAL
When the paycheck does not match the week you worked.
Federal law applies everywhere: the Fair Labor Standards Act. On top of it sit the New York Labor Law, New Jersey’s wage laws, and Florida’s constitutional minimum wage. They overlap, and the state laws usually reach further back and add more. A lawyer sorts out which ones fit your facts.
01 / COMMON WAGE VIOLATIONS
The problem is not always obvious on the check. The shortfall is.
You do not need to name the violation. Describe the job, the hours, and the pay, and the lawyer will match it to the law.
Minimum wage, spread of hours & call-in pay
- A rate below the New York, New Jersey or Florida minimum
- Unpaid training, waiting, or travel between job sites
- New York: no extra hour for a workday spread over 10 hours
- New York hospitality: sent home early without call-in pay
Tips & service charges
- Owners or managers taking a share of the tip pool
- Credit-card tips that never fully arrived
- Banquet or catering “service charges” kept by the house
- A tip credit taken without the written notice New York requires
Misclassification
- “Salaried” or “exempt” without real management duties
- Paid below New York’s salary threshold for exempt staff
- “Independent contractor” with a company-set schedule and rate
- A day rate with no overtime, at any income level
Off-the-clock work & meal deductions
- Pre-shift setup and post-shift cleanup
- Meal breaks deducted automatically but worked through
- Calls, texts, and errands outside scheduled hours
- Time-clock rounding that always favors the employer
Deductions, pay stubs & wage notices
- Money taken for shortages, breakage, uniforms, or “training”
- No pay statement with each paycheck
- No written notice of pay rate at hire, in English and, where the State provides a template, your primary language
- New York manual workers paid every two weeks instead of weekly (a limited claim on its own since a 2025 amendment)
02 / WHAT WE ASK ABOUT FIRST
We begin with the clock, the employer, the hours, and the pay.
The clock
Your last day worked, or whether you are still there. Every paycheck has its own deadline, and we work out how far back a claim can reach before anything else.
Who employed you
The business name, the address, whether it changed names or owners, and the people who hired you, set your schedule, set your pay, and signed the checks. Owners can be personally responsible.
Your hours and your duties
A typical week, period by period, and what you actually did all day. Titles are not the answer; duties are.
Your pay and your papers
The rate or weekly amount, how it was paid, deductions and tips, and anything you signed at hire, including any arbitration agreement.
Your kind of work has its own page.
Restaurants, delis & kitchens Construction & day labor Home care & cleaning Delivery, warehouse & drivers Retail & fast food Salons & car washesBOTH SIDES OF THE CASE
We represent workers, and we defend businesses.
We have worked both sides of these cases, and that informs how we handle each one. Employers with a demand letter, an audit or a lawsuit can start here too. The firm checks for conflicts before it takes any matter, on either side.
PAY PROBLEMS WE HANDLE
Describe the job and the pay. We will match it to the law.
A lawyer reads every message and explains the practical options.
Tell us what happened (718) 484-7510