When you work overtime, it’s only natural to want compensation for your extra work. Through many federal laws in place, you are entitled to a fair wage for your overtime work. However, when your employer violates those laws, it’s up to you to enforce your rights in the workplace. If you don’t speak out against this injustice, then nothing can be done about it. YOU DESERVE COMPENSATION FOR WORKING OVERTIME
WHY THERE ARE KIDS ON YOUR PORCH ASKING FOR CANDY THE HISTORY OF TRICK-OR-TREATING As Halloween looms and you load up your grocery cart with candy, you may ask yourself, “Why do I provide these spooky gremlins with a sugar high every Oct. 31, anyway?” Well, when your doorbell starts ringing around 6 p.m. this All Hallows’ Eve, you can thank the Celts for this tradition of candy and costumes. Halloween itself is a kind of mishmash of four different cultural festivals of old: two Roman fêtes, which commemorated the dead and the goddess of fruit and trees (not at the same time); the Celtic Samuin or Samhain, a new year’s party thrown at the end of our summer; and the Catholic All Saint’s Day, designed to replace Samuin and divorce it from its pagan origins. Long before there were young’uns on your porch dressed as Thanos with candy-filled pillowcases in hand, the Celts believed that Samuin marked an overlapping of the realms of the living and the dead. To trick the spirits leaking into our world, young men donned flowing white costumes and black masks — a great disguise when ghosts were about. The Catholic Church was never a big fan of these pagan traditions, so they renamed it “All Saints’ Day” and gussied it up in religious garb. By the 11th century, people were dressing up as saints, angels, and the occasional demon instead of spirits. Eventually, costumed children started tearing through town begging for food and money and singing a song or prayer in return — a practice called “souling.”
Under the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), workers must be paid at least the federal minimum wage rate — $7.25 an hour. Furthermore, all employees who work more than 40 hours in one week are entitled to 1 1/2 times their normal wage rate for every hour over. It’s the
employer’s responsibility to keep track of these extra work hours for their employees and to pay them respectively. However, it’s not uncommon for an employer to avoid paying their employees overtime by not accurately counting hours or failing to educate employees about their rights. All employee complaints regarding wage and hour disputes must go through WHD. Complaints must include the employee’s name, information regarding their employer, and proof of wrongdoing, including pay stubs and their hours worked. The more information you can provide the WHD, the higher chance you have for an approval. If you don’t submit enough detail, you run the risk of your complaint being dismissed. Filing a complaint with the WHD against your employer can be an intimidating process. Most employees don’t know where to start or how to fill out the paperwork required. The Georgia employment lawyers of Obiorah Fields, LLC, understand the complicated process and can assist you in navigating it. If your employer has refused to pay you according to legal standing, our attorneys can help. Call our offices using the number below and speak to one of our ready, willing, and able attorneys today.
But when did they start dressing up as Minions? Starting in the 19th century, souling turned to “guising,” which gave way to trick-or-treating in mid-20th- century America, and the costumes diversified. So put on some clown makeup and a big smile, scoop up a handful of sweets, and scare the living daylights out of ‘em — ‘tis the season!
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