Current Issues and Current Investigations
by The Buenker Law Firm

The attorneys of The Buenker Law Firm have identified the occupations on this page as ones where many workers experience various types of wage theft. The Buenker Law Firm is actively representing workers in these professions and/or actively investigating a number of employers for violations of wage laws. If you are employed in one of these occupations and would like to discuss your situation with a wage theft lawyer, contact us by clicking here.

Traveling Merchandisers

A Traveling Merchandiser is a person who travels the country installing shelving and stocking retail store shelves with merchandise. The Buenker Law Firm has represented many of these workers and continues to bring cases for traveling merchandisers who work or have worked at companies such as Dollar General, Wal Mart, Target, Lowes, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and other retailers. We have sued and continue to sue merchandising companies that frequently underpay Traveling Merchandisers the compensation they are due under the law.

The Companies underpay their Traveling Merchandisers in many different was such as:

• Misclassifying employees as independent contractors
• Paying on a day-rate basis with no overtime pay
• Paying on a day-rate basis but their pay stubs show hourly pay and overtime
• Paying on a weekly basis with no overtime pay
• Paying on a “per job” basis with no overtime pay
• Paying on an hourly basis with no overtime pay
• Not paying for travel time between work locations
• Paying for travel time between locations but travel time not counted toward overtime

If you have worked as a Traveling Merchandiser and any of these apply to you, or if you think that there is some other way that you were improperly paid and you would like to discuss your situation with a wage theft lawyer, you may call us at (866) BUENKER or click here.

Loan consultants and loan officers work for banks and other lenders and have a primary duty of facilitating the loan application process for consumers seeking to buy real estate. These individuals often regularly work more than 40 hours per week, and they usually receive at least some of their pay by commission payments. They are sometimes misclassified as exempt, salaried employees and not paid any overtime at all. Other loan officers are paid minimum wage and overtime on minimum wage, but their employer does not factor their commission payments into the overtime rate calculation as the law requires. If you are a mortgage loan consultant or loan officer and have questions about your pay, you may call us at (866) BUENKER or click here.

Title Examiners, also sometimes called Title Officers or Escrow Officers, are individuals who work for title companies and who spend their time researching public records such as county real estate records to determine ownership and legal status of real estate before a real estate transaction takes place. Title Examiners are often paid on a salary basis and are often misclassified as exempt employees so that they are not paid overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. If you are a Title Examiner and you would like to speak with an attorney about your work situation, you may call us at (866) BUENKER or click here.

Welders are often misclassified as independent contractors. Welders who are paid as independent contractors and who are paid on an hourly basis are not paid overtime pay even though they often work more than 40 hours per week. Some companies also pay welders for “rental” of their trucks and/or welding equipment, which generates even more income for which the welder is not paid overtime pay. If you are a welder who is curious whether you may be misclassified as an independent contractor, you can review our Independent Contractor page here or you may call us at (866) BUENKER or click here to make an online inquiry.

Men and women who work as inspectors and safety officers (often called “Safety Man”) on construction sites and in other industrial settings are often misclassified as independent contractors. The folks often work through personnel placement services and are often placed in short-term projects at locations such as petrochemical plan turnarounds, shipyards, offshore oil platforms, and other industrial sites. Our inspector clients have been paid hourly for straight time with no overtime, have been paid a day rate, and have been paid on a salary basis, sometimes with bonuses based on their deployment. If you have worked as an inspector or safety officer and are curious whether you may have a claim for overtime pay, you may call us at (866) BUENKER or click here to make an online inquiry.