People hire employment attorneys for all sorts of reasons, including in situations where they are not properly compensated by their employers. In fact, there are various scenarios in which you might need to hire an employment attorney for a pay-related issue. These are a few examples of the situations in which you might need to hire one of these attorneys.

You Aren't Being Paid Minimum Wage

There is a federal minimum wage in place that all employers in the United States have to abide by when paying their employees. Basically, your employer has to pay you at least the amount of the federal minimum wage per hour. Additionally, some states and even some cities have additional minimum wage laws that require employers to pay their employees even more. If your employer is not paying you at least minimum wage for each hour that you work, then you should hire an employment lawyer immediately. They can talk to you about what the minimum wage is in your area and can help take action against your employer for violating these laws.

You Aren't Being Compensated Properly for Overtime Hours

Not only is your employer required to pay you a certain amount, but they are also required by law to compensate you at a higher rate for each hour that you work beyond full-time hours. If your employer is simply paying you your standard hourly rate for all of the hours that you work — including when you work more than 40 hours a week — then there is a very good chance that your employer is violating the law. Your employment attorney can talk to you about the hours that you have worked and the pay rate that you are being paid and then can assist you in taking action.

You Haven't Been Paid for the Correct Number of Work Hours

Your employer should pay you for each hour that you are "on the clock" at work, and they shouldn't ask you to clock out and work without being paid your hourly rate, either. If you are dealing with either of these situations, you should seek help from an employment attorney as soon as possible.

As you can see, there are a few different situations in which you might need to hire an employment lawyer to help you with pay-related issues. Luckily, a good employment lawyer will talk to you about how much your employer is supposed to be paying you based off of your employment contract, federal and local laws, and more. Then, they can help you take action so that you can hopefully receive the money that you are owed and avoid being put in similar situations in the future.