Your boss is REQUIRED to keep a record of when you work.

The Houston, Texas employment lawyers at Kennedy Hodges, LLP understand that most workers are afraid to report unfair work practices because of a fear of losing their jobs. Especially in today's unsteady economy, many employees feel the need to either agree with what their superiors tell them or deal with the unfair conditions in order to put food on the table.

Take for example the issue of unpaid overtime in a Houston, Texas job. Say you normally arrive at work a half hour early, and are asked to start working 20 minutes before your shift starts. However, you are not allowed to clock in until the scheduled shift time, which means that you work without pay every week. For many employees, that can equal hundreds of hours over the course of a career with one company.

Not only do many employees fail to realize that this violates the Fair Labor Standards Act, but they also do not bother to report the problem, since they don't keep their paystubs and can't "prove" the dates and times that they worked.

Under this same Act, all employers are required to record the number of hours that you work, as well as the compensation you've earned and other employment information. This information must be kept on file for at least three years after you stop working for the company.

According to the United States Department of Labor, here is what an employer is required to keep on file for every non-exempt employee:

• Employee's full name and Social Security number;
• Address;
• Birth date, if younger than 19;
• Sex and occupation;
• Time and day of week when employee's workweek begins;
• Hours worked each day;
• Total hours worked each workweek;
• Basis on which employee's wages are paid (for example, "$10 per hour," "$480 a week," "piecework");
• Regular hourly pay rate;
• Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings;
• Total overtime earnings for the workweek;
• All additions to or deductions from the employee's wages;
• Total wages paid each pay period;
• Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment.

Don't allow your overtime claim to go unpaid just because you don't have a record of your hours. If you have a question about whether or not you should be compensated, you CANNOT LOSE YOUR JOB for asking.

In fact, you can order a free copy of Ten Biggest Mistakes that Can Hurt Your Wage and Overtime Claim by calling Kennedy Hodges at 888.449.2068. This book will provide you with all of the information that you need before contacting the attorneys for your free case evaluation. The lawyers at Kennedy Hodges, LLP will sit down with you, go over your situation, and provide you with the best plan of attack. Protect your paycheck. Call us today.