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When you spend most of your time at your job, you expect to receive fair compensation. You sacrifice hours that could be with family and friends in exchange for a paycheck. But your company may try to find ways to deny you payment for your time on the clock.

Businesses often look for ways to cut costs in their operations. But when they start to limit the wages they pay employees, they may go against regulations put into place by federal and Florida state laws. Below are a few ways employers violate wage-and-hour laws.

Not paying overtime

For any time worked over 40 hours in a week, your employer must increase your wage to overtime standards. But your boss may pay you your standard rate regardless of how many hours you worked. Or a supervisor might put down fewer hours than you actually worked.

Classifying workers as contractors

If a business doesn’t consider you an employee, they can save on benefits and avoid wage-and-hour rules. However, your employer may abuse this classification. If you work full-time performing tasks that are a central part of the company’s business, you may be a full-time employee, even if you are called a contractor.

Paying workers a salary and calling them exempt from overtime

If you earn a salary, you may work more than 40 hours without receiving overtime pay. But the U.S. Department of Labor has guidelines for who employers can consider exempt. You must earn a high enough salary and perform specific job duties. Otherwise, you qualify for overtime pay, even if you don’t have an hourly rate.

The Department of Labor protects your right to a fair wage

Your employer may come up with many different ways to save money. And if they try to cut into your paycheck, you may feel like they are stealing from you. But the Fair Labor Standards Act restricts how much your boss can take away from your wages.