Worker Rights

The federal minimum wage for most covered, non-exempt workers is currently $7.25 per hour. Covered non-exempt workers are also generally entitled to overtime pay at one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

If you believe you have not been paid wages you are owed, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division accepts complaints confidentially.

• U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division
• Worker.gov

Under federal rules, an employer that uses the tip credit must make sure the worker receives at least the required minimum wage when direct wages and tips are combined. If tips are not enough, the employer must make up the difference.

Tip pools, mandatory service charges, and credit-card processing deductions have specific rules. Refer to the DOL pages below for the official language.

• U.S. DOL Fact Sheet 15 — Tipped Employees Under the FLSA
• U.S. DOL tip regulations
• Georgia Department of Labor

Training time may need to be paid depending on the facts. The U.S. DOL says training, lectures, and meetings are not counted as work time only when all required conditions are met, including that the activity is outside normal hours, voluntary, not job related, and no productive work is performed.

Stages, working interviews, and unpaid trial shifts can raise pay questions if you are actually performing productive work for the business.

• U.S. DOL Fact Sheet 22 — Hours Worked Under the FLSA

Side work, setup, closing, cleaning, prep, and being told to clock out and keep working can all raise pay questions. Workers generally should keep their own records of when they worked and what work they performed. For a specific unpaid wage concern, contact the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division or a qualified legal aid organization.

• Worker.gov — Pay for hours worked
• U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division

Employers have recordkeeping obligations, but workers can also keep their own notes to help explain what happened if a pay issue comes up. Useful things to track:

• Hours worked and shift dates
• Pay received per pay period
• Tips, if trackable
• Screenshots of schedules, texts, or scheduling-app messages
• Employer name, business address, and manager you reported to

• Worker.gov — Recordkeeping
• U.S. DOL Fact Sheet 21 — Recordkeeping Under the FLSA

Some workers are labeled independent contractors even when the actual working relationship may need closer review. Event staff, talent, and gig-style work can raise classification questions. Government agencies and legal aid organizations can help workers understand where to ask questions.

• U.S. DOL — Misclassification of employees as independent contractors
• Worker.gov

Federal law does not require former employees to receive their final paycheck immediately. If the regular payday for the last pay period has passed and you have not been paid, the U.S. DOL says workers can contact the Wage and Hour Division or the state labor department.

• U.S. DOL — Last Paycheck
• Georgia Department of Labor — Employment issues

If a listing or interview asks about things like race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, or genetic information in a way that feels discriminatory, you can report it to ShiftMap. You may also be able to file a charge with the EEOC, depending on the employer and the type of claim.

• EEOC — Who is covered by employment discrimination laws
• EEOC — Filing a charge of discrimination

• U.S. Department of Labor — Wage and Hour Division
• Georgia Department of Labor
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• Atlanta Legal Aid Society — civil legal help for low-income people in metro Atlanta. Representation is not guaranteed.
• Georgia Legal Services Program — civil legal help for low-income Georgians outside metro Atlanta. Representation is not guaranteed.
• Worker.gov — federal portal that points workers to the right agency for their issue.