Q: My employer underpaid me, what am I entitled to collect?
A: If your employer fails to pay you the required minimum wage or overtime wage, you may be entitled to double damages under Connecticut law.
First, you must establish that your employer violated Connecticut wage and hour law.
Minimum Wage: Connecticut requires that certain employees be paid a minimum wage.
In 2015, the minimum wage was $9.15 per hour.
In 2016, the minimum wage is $9.60.
In 2017, the minimum wage will be $10.10.
Overtime: In addition, certain employees must be paid at least one and one-half times their regular rate for any hours worked in excess of forty hours per week. Many types of employees, however, are exempted from overtime pay.
All Hours Worked. Employers sometime don’t pay for all hours that an employee is working, which is illegal.
Second, in order to avoid double damages, the employer must establish that it “had a good faith belief” that the underpayment of such wages was in compliance with the law. Connecticut General Statutes §§ 31-68, 31-72.
If the employer can establish that its underpayment was in good faith, you still are entitled to recover the full amount that you were underpaid, but you cannot recover double damages.
