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How To Handle Wage And Hour Claims: A Legal Perspective For Employers

As an employer, there are many burdensome responsibilities to balance. Maintaining quality output of product or service while creating a positive work environment can be extremely difficult to manage. In addition to maintaining product/service quality and employee satisfaction, an employer must also remain cognizant of business law as well as workers' rights, not only to protect their customers and employees but also to protect themselves. With the help of a business litigation & employer defense lawyer, employers can proactively work to avoid wage and hour claims before they occur and, if a claim is filed, move forward knowing all their legal rights and responsibilities. Consider contacting a business litigation & employer defense lawyer at Schwab & Gasparini by calling (315) 422-1333 for the Syracuse, NY office, (518) 591-4664 for the Albany, NY office, or (914) 304-4353 for the White Plains, NY office and the Hudson Valley office.

Understand Labor Laws

To avoid litigation or wage and hour claims against their business, employers must understand labor laws. The Wage and Hour Division website, a subset of the U.S. Department of Labor, has manifold resources to assist both employees and employers in better following and understanding labor laws. Knowing the minimum wage requirements within the state as well as overtime and break policies will help employers protect their employees’ rights and limit wage and hour claims filed against them. Though there are many online resources to help employers understand labor laws, like the Wage and Hour Division website, the help of an experienced New York business litigation & employer defense lawyer may be a great option for business owners to avoid and handle wage and hour claims against them.

Comply with Local Meal Break Policies

Within each state, there are specific policies for meal breaks and shift breaks. If employers are not accommodating of these breaks, they could be liable to wage and hour claims filed against them. To avoid these claims, make sure to understand state and local meal break policies and encourage employees to take advantage of their legal rights. Ultimately, it is up to the employee to accept their break, but employers should consider making an effort to encourage all employees to take their meal breaks. This practice will reduce liability to wage and hour claims made against the company, specifically connected to meal and shift breaks. The meal break policies for each state can be found on the Wage and Hour Division website for employers’ use to facilitate compliance with labor laws. 

Implement Safeguards to Prevent Work Off-the-Clock 

One issue that may lead to a wage and hour claim is unpaid, off-the-clock work. Employers must be aware that, to properly compensate employees, they must maintain clear and accurate clock in and out times. For hourly employees, working off-the-clock is an important issue and must be corrected. Employers should make sure to do the following to avoid potential wage and hour claims filed against them:

• Create clear missed punch policies to correct missing or late punches
• Explain the clock-in process to all employees
• Review and approve all time cards to attempt to catch mistakes or missed punches
• Remind employees to clock in if missed punches become an issue
• Have employees review their time card to verify accuracy

Though clocking in is the job of the employee, an employer should do everything they can to facilitate a clear and easy clock-in process, allowing them to avoid employees working off-the-clock and reduce liability to wage and hour claims.

Maintain Clear Payroll Records

In the event that a wage and hour claim is filed against a company, the clear maintenance of payroll records will be an unparalleled advantage to the employer. By keeping accurate payroll records, the employer can help to correct any issues brought up by accurate wage and hour claims and dispel any false accusations of employee mistreatment. Employers, from the beginning of their business, should maintain these records to the best of their ability for the federally required three years. When wage and hour claims are made against an employer, they may wish to consider contacting an experienced business litigation & employer defense lawyer at Schwab & Gasparini.

Audit Payroll Practices Regularly

To help maintain clear and accurate payroll records, employers should regularly perform payroll audits. This will allow inconsistencies or mistakes to be noticed and corrected before payroll is dispensed, reducing the likelihood of wage and hour claims being made against the employer and their company.

Communicate Payroll Policies with Employees

To help make payroll policies clear to employees, employers should be sure to communicate these policies in an employee handbook or the like. This will allow employees to know how they can expect to be compensated, how many breaks and what length of time to expect per shift, as well as how to be sure to receive their full employee benefits and rights. 

Train Applicable Staff on Labor Laws

Since many companies rely on managers or other employee roles to manage payroll, it is important for an employer to train the staff on labor laws. To avoid possible wage and hour claims, the employer should consider training managers on the labor laws to which they must adhere. An employer may know that all employees are entitled to a 30-minute lunch break, but if the manager is not aware of this law, they may not enforce it, leading to possible wage and hour claims against the employer and their company. By addressing this issue, employers can reduce their liability to such claims and better protect their employees. 

Consult a Business Litigation & Employer Defense Lawyer to Identify and Rectify Potential Issues

Because there are so many different responsibilities an employer must balance, it is important to use all the available resources to avoid legal difficulties. Wage and hour claims can be a daunting responsibility for employers to manage, but with the help of a knowledgeable business litigation & employer defense lawyer from Schwab & Gasparini, these claims may be avoided altogether, and if already filed, may be better resolved. To better understand all your legal options and rights when dealing with wage and hour claims, consider calling an understanding lawyer from Schwab & Gasparini at (315) 422-1333 for the Syracuse, NY office, (518) 591-4664 for the Albany, NY office, or (914) 304-4353 for the White Plains, NY office and the Hudson Valley office.

Mon Mar 17 2025, 12:00am