October 23rd, 2008Is it legal for my employer to reduce my wage?
My employer reduces my hourly wage for the entire pay period if I miss a day of work. We have no sick days. Only vacation days but can only use those if we give a weeks notice in advance.Our pay period’s are the 10th and the 25th of the month. Those are the days we are payed on as well.
For example if I am payed $15 per hr. And miss a day. I am then reduced to $14 per hr for the whole pay period that I have worked.
It matters not if it is an emergency or not. This practice is done.
October 26th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
he can but that doesnt mean you can’t look for a new job.
October 27th, 2008 at 4:03 am
Call the labor board and get a straight answer. It will probably vary from state to state.
October 28th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Wow, that just sounds like a bad environment to be in.
October 29th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
in a way if they reduce it under minimum rage then it’s time to sue. you can also sue if the reduce your wage for no good reason. what is the reason anyways?
October 31st, 2008 at 1:16 am
Unless you are in a union you have no rights as a worker.
Another reason to support unions.
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:47 am
Each state has their own laws, however I can think of a number of ways that this could be legal.
If he states he pays $14 per hour and gives a $1 bonus per hour on each pay period, it would not be a pay cut.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:01 am
You need to Unionize, you may need to speak to the labor board
November 5th, 2008 at 3:00 am
If you signed a contract when you started working here, that specified you are paid HOURLY, then you have a great case against your employer.
It’s a sucky employer who doesn’t give sick days - greedy & selfish.
I would start looking for a better/friendlier work environment if I were you.
Good luck!
HelenKeller
November 5th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Depends on where you live but typically the rate of pay can be dropped, but no lower than minimum wage.
November 7th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Sounds like their using the “Attendance Bonus” Sceme…
If this is stated to you up front and is in the handbook and or any other document that you’ve signed,,,then yes it’s legal.
I’ve seen extremes of this: Regular pay is $12.00
U miss work (Sick or Unaproved Time off) $9.00
Should be illegal to do this anyway….
What if an emerency came up,,,or you really did get sick,,,,,,
I understand employers want their employers to be on time and work 24/7,,,,,,,,But they can just bite me,,,,we all are entitled to miss work 4 whatever reasons arise…
UNIONIZE and U wont have these type of a–es
November 9th, 2008 at 2:59 am
As a general rule they must pay you the hours you worked at the rate you agreed to work for.
Employment law varies state by state. There are normally a lot of prior case law in each state that addresses most questions.
For example an employer may try to dock the whole hour if you are more than 5 minutes late, and the courts may or may not have ruled against them.
The fact that they want to go back and retroactively reduce the pay for prior days that you have already worked makes their action very questionable, and probably illegal.
Even with a contract that backs them up, it is probably only legal to adjust the day that the violation took place. Not reaching back into prior days worked.
For example if you worked for 13 days and missed the 14th they would owe you your full pay for the prior 13 days because you have already worked them. The courts take a dim view on changing the terms of a contract after the fact.
As a worker who gets paid hourly, when you work an hour you are due the rate of pay previously agreed to, even if they later catch you stealing and fire you. They still owe you the money for the hours you worked.
An employer may get away, depending on the law in that state with paying you a lower rate for that day when you missed part of it. And even then, they can only do that if you have signed a contract that allows them to do that. No contract, then they have to pay you the rate agreed to for the hours you worked.
If they don’t like that they can fire you, but they can’t hold back on wages you have already legally earned.
I would go see a lawyer that specializes in employment law. A labor law specialist for your state. Find one that has a reputation of getting large Judgments and settlements from employers, not one who defends companies for a living.
I suspect that they will be more than willing to take the case because:
a) This seems to be a flagrant violation of contract and employment law.
b) You will have the documentation because you have saved your pay stubs.
c) You will have saved any paperwork about your hourly rate or the policy of docking your wages retroactively.
d) You are not alone, but have other employees that are under the same policy with the same employer, therefore their is the chance of a much larger settlement.
You may want to search out the web sites for department of labor and the labor information for your state. Most states have a FAQ section that address common issues of labor law.
Go and talk to your local employment office. They may have the names of lawyers who often represent employees.
Good luck.