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Employers are notorious for cheating satellite and cable installers out of overtime wages.

Are you a satellite or cable installer in Texas? If you are, it's very likely that you are owed unpaid overtime wages.  

To learn more about your rights to overtime compensation, you need to order a FREE copy of 10 Biggest Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Wage & Overtime Claim. This book was written by the Houston unpaid overtime lawyers at Kennedy Hodges for all victims of Texas overtime violations.

Texas cable and satellite installers are frequently cheated out of the wages to which they are lawfully entitled. This sometimes occurs unintentionally, but it is often due to a company's attempt to get around the laws established by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and pay its employees as little as possible.  

Piece Rate Violations 

Cable TV and satellite installation companies frequently pay their installers and technicians on a "piece rate" basis. This means that they are paid for each piece, work, or installation that they complete. This is a completely legal method of payment for employees. However, the company must take into consideration all compensation earned in a workweek when an employee works more than 40 hours so that the proper overtime pay may be calculated.   Most employers who pay on a piece rate fail to track all time worked precisely because they pay their employees on a piece rate, instead of by the hour. This is against the law. The employer is still required to keep detailed and accurate records of all hours, including:

• Travel time between jobs
• Time waiting for jobs
• Time spent at the shop
• Work at home
• Time spent waiting for customers
• Training time

If the employee works more than 40 hours per week, then the employer is required to compensate for overtime in addition to piece rates. 

Independent Contractor Violations

Another way that cable installation companies attempt to get around paying their installers or technicians overtime is by classifying them as "independent contractors" or "1099 employees." This practice can lead to the employee being cheated out of required minimum wages, overtime pay, health benefits, retirement benefits, FICA taxes, unemployment benefits, and workers' compensation. An employer's use of a 1099 form doesn't automatically classify a cable installer or technician as an independent contractor. In order to be properly classified as an independent contractor, one must consider several factors which have been established by the FLSA.Read this article if you're unsure whether you should be classified as an independent contractor or an employee.  

Are You Owed Overtime?

You may be owed overtime compensation if your employer:

• Did not keep record of your hours worked;
• Did not pay you one and one-half times your regular rate for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week (this means converting your piece or day rate to an hourly rate first);
• Did not allow you to record all hours worked;
• Did not pay you for "down time" in your workday, such as driving time or time waiting for customers.

If you have questions about your independent contractor status or are concerned about the likelihood that you may be owed unpaid overtime, contact a Texas labor lawyer at Kennedy Hodges today. Our Houston, Texas payroll lawyers will sit down with you for free to discuss your situation and determine whether you are due unpaid overtime.

To read more about an actual client we have represented please click here.

The Texas overtime lawyers at Kennedy Hodges represent workers nationwide and across Texas in:

Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Pasadena, Laredo, Sugar Land, Lubbock, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Columbus, Charlotte, Detroit, and more.

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Blog for Cable Installers

• Top 4 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Lawyer for Your Fair Wage Claim
• Cable installers entitled to compensation if working through lunch
• Cable Installers Can Protect Paychecks by Documenting Everything
• Stuck Waiting for Your Cable Customer? You Should Be Paid for the Wait!
• Cable technicians file wage and overtime lawsuit
• Cable installers denied overtime pay - Cable technicians and overtime laws

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Library for Cable Installers:

• Cable Installers Entitled to Overtime Pay at Time and a Half   
  Kennedy Hodges at 888.449.2068 if you are a cable installer who is not receiving compensation for working off the clock. You may be missing out on overtime pay.
• Common Reasons Why Satellite and Cable Installers Are Not Paid Fair Wages   
  Call Kennedy Hodges at 888.449.2068 if you are a cable or satellite dish installer who is not receiving fair wages. We offer free consultations.
• Piece Rate Pay Can Cause Cable Installers to Miss Out on Overtime   
  Kennedy Hodges at 888.449.2068 if you are a cable installer who is being unfairly paid a piece rate pay, for your free book and free consultation.

View All

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Frequent Questions for Cable Installers:

• I am employed as a cable installer. As part of my training, I was required to complete an online course on cable boxes, but was allowed to finish it from home. Should I be paid for the time I spent training outside of the office?
• I am a cable installer and travel to an average of five homes a day. Should I be paid for my travel time?
• I am a cable installer working for a cable contractor but my employer says I am exempt from overtime pay. Is this true?