Employee Payroll Rights
Any employee who works is entitled to be paid for the hours paid. Employees may not be paid less than minimum wage, unless the employee receives other wages or benefits that add up to minimum wage. An employee is responsible for withholding tax, but the employer must take out the correct amount of taxes, according to the tax forms and exemptions the employee submits.
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Withholding Pay
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An employee must pay all employees on regular payday. If the payday falls on a holiday, it is the responsibility of the employer to get checks, direct deposits and other payment methods together so the payment is not late. If an employee is fired, the law requires the employee to be paid immediately, or by the next pay period. It is illegal to hold an employees pay for any reason, unless the employee had legal deductions taken out of his or her check that caused non-payment.
Overtime Pay
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Employees have the right to overtime pay. If an employee works more than the normal full-time work schedule, typically 40 hours a week, the employee has the right to be paid an overtime rate for any hour worked thereafter. There are some employees, such as independent contractors, volunteers, exempt employees, casual domestic baby sitters and newspapers deliverers. Employees who work on a small farm are not entitled to overtime pay, as well as computer specialists such as analysts, programmers and software engineers whose salary is at least $27.63 per hour.
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Wage Garnishments
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A payroll department cannot legally garnish the wages of an employee unless the court of law has ordered otherwise. If an employee owes creditor money, the creditor will have to take the employee to small claims court and have a judge rule in his favor. The employer and payroll department will need to verify all garnishments and deductions are legal, because if proved illegal, the employer will be responsible for reimbursing the employee with the money paid to the creditors.
Minimum Wage and Tips
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Depending on the state the employee lives in, the law requires that an employee who is paid tips not have his or her wages decreased. An employer is required to pay the employee minimum wage, despite how many tips an employee brings in. In other states, an employee is allowed to pay lower than minimum wage if an employee brings in more than $30 per month in tips. However, the tips of the employee must at least add up to minimum wage for each hour worked, or the employer has to make up the difference.
Jury Duty
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All states require an employer to allow an employee time off for jury duty. Some states allow employees time off to testify as a witness in a court hearing. Not all states, but some, such as Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts, require employers to compensate the employee for the time the employee had off due to jury duty. The employee will be paid by the courts for jury duty, but the employer can deduct the amount the jury duty pays from the normal wage. The employee has the right to be paid nonetheless.
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