While you may not be interested in going back to work for an employer who fired you for an improper reason, you may still want to claim the earnings you would have received if it were not for your employer’s illegal or unlawful actions.
The wrongful dismissal attorneys at the Feldman Legal Group are here to help employees recover payment of wages in Atlanta wrongful termination cases. We could review the circumstances of your termination, confirm whether your former employer violated your legal rights, and file your claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and in a lawsuit for that violation.
What Steps Should a Fired Employee Take to Get Unpaid Wages?
In any wrongful termination case, employees can best help their Atlanta lawyers by collecting and organizing documents and other evidence to support a wage payment claim. That evidence might include:
- Several months of pay stubs or salary statements
- Copies of written employment contracts or commission agreements
- Human resource manuals showing the employer’s wage and hour policies
- Emails and other communications reflecting co-workers’ or managers’ discriminatory comments
- Timesheets showing hours worked, timely or late arrivals and departures, and scheduled breaks
Your former employer will have substantial resources and assistance from seasoned human resources and legal departments to push back against your claims. Attorney Mitchell Feldman and his team could help you collect the wages you deserve by compiling the most persuasive evidence available in your specific case to strengthen your claims.
Are Wage Payment Claims Limited to Hourly Employees?
Commissioned salespersons, exempt salaried professionals, and hourly workers can all have valid wage payment claims in Atlanta wrongful termination cases. In particular, employers may be liable for wrongful termination when they attempt to avoid the guidelines in the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act.
Georgia state law follows these guidelines, which define when an employee must receive overtime pay. Specifically, to be exempt from receiving overtime pay, an employee must be paid at least $684 per week (or $35,568 per year) and have professional, administrative, or executive responsibilities. Employees who do not meet these guidelines and who are fired after demanding overtime pay will generally have a strong wrongful termination case.
The state also has a specific commission law, under the Official Code of Georgia §10-1-70, that requires employers to disburse unpaid commissions within 30 days of terminating an employee whose pay is commission-based. Those employees should consult with Mitchell Feldman if their former employers withhold commission wages based on forfeiture clauses or other potentially invalid provisions in a sales and commission contract.
Are There Deadlines for Filing Wrongful Termination Wage Claims?
Fired employees in Atlanta should always take prompt action to pursue recovery of wage payments in a wrongful termination case. Employees have two years after being fired to file a wage claim. More critically, wage claims based on equal employment discrimination must be submitted to the EEOC within 180 days.
When you retain our team of experienced wage recovery attorneys at the Feldman Legal Group, we identify all critical deadlines for your claims, assemble all available evidence to support those claims, and file them with the appropriate administrative offices and courts well before any deadlines expire.
Call an Atlanta Attorney About Wage Payments in Your Wrongful Termination Case
If you were unlawfully fired, please call the attorneys at the Feldman Legal Group for guidance on payment of wages in Atlanta wrongful termination cases. When you retain our services, our mission is to pursue the full amount of wages, salary, commissions, and benefits that were wrongfully withheld from you.
(877) 946-8293