We represent individuals employed by landscaping and lawn care companies who are required to work long hours but are not properly paid. Whether you trim hedges, cut grass, remove trees or plant flowers, the law is the same and you are required to be paid for all hours you work. There are, however, a number of wage-theft issues specific to this industry which you may be experiencing.
For example, hourly-paid workers are often required to record on their time sheets that they worked less hours than they actually did. This may include recording lunch breaks that are never taken or recording longer lunch breaks that were actually taken (e.g., recording a 60-minute lunch break when lunch only lasted 15 minutes). This is illegal. Workers may also be told to record only the hours they are scheduled to work (such as from 9:00 .m. to 5:00 p.m.), even though they work longer. This, too, is illegal. It is work performed “off-the-clock” and employers know all too well that they will be sued for requiring workers like you to do this. Likewise, managers or other supervisors may not be properly recording your time and, in some instances, may be deleting time you recorded. Again, this is illegal.
In addition to unlawful off-the-clock work, workers may be classified as “exempt” from overtime (and paid a salary), even though the work they perform is manual labor and they should, like other hourly employees performing the same type of work, be paid overtime for working more than 40 hours in a week. This is called being “misclassified” and the goal is often to save your employer from having to pay you overtime. Again, this is illegal.
If one of the above situations applies to you, then you are not being paid for all of your work. Or, if you have been retaliated against for complaining about not being properly paid for your work (or fear that happening), you may be entitled to additional pay. The landscaping and lawn care industry demands long hours and hard work. In return, you deserve to be paid properly and in accordance with the law. If you are not, contact Jason Conway. We are experienced in representing individuals in the landscaping and lawn care industry, including individuals who have been retaliated against for complaining about not being properly paid. While we cannot trim trees, we can trim bad pay practices.