Lost Your Job?
What You Need to Know About Your Right to Wages
Under South Carolina’s Payment of Wages Act, employers must meet certain requirements regarding payment of wages to their employees and communication of the terms of employment. This act extends to cover compensation owed to those laid off or fired. If you’ve been let go from your job, here are some things you should know to make sure you get the compensation you deserve. What is considered as wages? Wages include vacation, holiday, and sick leave payments that are due to an employee under an employer policy or employment contract. Money placed in pension or profit-sharing plans is not consideredwages. Did know that the Payment of Wages Act only applies to regular employees and does not cover contractors? However, sales representatives, even if not employees, are still owed any sales commission they earned or will earn under their contract while working for an employer. When do I get my lastwages if I’ve been laid off or fired? According to the Payment of Wages Act, employers must pay employees any remaining wages within 48 hours of the separation or in the next regular paycheck, which must not be more than 30 days from the date of separation. This can include any vacation, holiday, and sick leave that the employee has accrued while they were employed.
What do I do if I think my employer owes me wages? If you think your employer may owe you wages, you can file a complaint through the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. Find the form at LLR.SC.gov/wage/paymentofwages.aspx. You also have the right to file a lawsuit against an employer who has failed to pay you wages you’re owed under the company policy or your contract. Under the Payment of Wages Act, the judge can award the employee three times the amount of unpaid wages, as well as attorney fees. It may be worth taking legal action if your employer owes you wages.
Glazed Goodness The Sweet History of National Doughnut Day
Get ready to treat yourself because June 5 is National Doughnut Day! Contrary to popular belief, National Doughnut Day wasn’t created as an excuse for Americans to eat more doughnuts. The celebration was actually started by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor “Doughnut Lassies,” the women who served doughnuts to soldiers on the front lines during World War I. The Salvation Army still celebrates National Doughnut Day by delivering doughnuts to veterans across the country. The earliest version of the doughnut is believed to have come to North America with Dutch settlers in the 17th century. The Dutch brought with them balls of fried, sweetened dough called olykoeks , which translates to “oily cakes.” Though they were tasty, we don’t think many people would be eager to pick up a dozen oily cakes for the office. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the word “doughnut” was coined in the 19th century by a woman named Elizabeth Gregory. Her son, Handon Gregory, was a New England ship captain. She began making deep-fried dough treats with nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon rind for her son and his crew. She would put hazelnuts or walnuts in the center of the pastry where the dough might not cook through, so she called her creation “doughnuts.”
HandonGregoryalsogets somecredit formakingdoughnuts recognizable: He was the one who first put the hole in the doughnuts, though the exact reason is unclear. Some say it was to use fewer ingredients, while others suggest he created the hole by accident after skewering the pastry on the spokes of the ship’s wheel when he needed to steer with both hands during a storm. Whatever the reason, that hole is still part of a classic doughnut to this day.
There are lots of ways to celebrate National Doughnut Day. Recognize the history of the holiday
by donating to the Salvation Army or by sending a box of doughnuts to a veteran in your life. You can also order from your favorite local doughnut shop or fry up some homemade doughnuts with your family. There’s a pretty great recipe at SallysBakingAddiction.com/ how- to -make - homemade - glazed-doughnuts.
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