corrupt employer

[offlim69]

Fired for wanting money owed to me

What is the name of your state? Maryland

I was hired to work for a company as a District Sales manager for a small company. Ill give the readers digest version. I had discovered tha when my employer had given me a pay raise that the raise did not go into effect the day the status change was submitted( yes it was dated and signed) After about a month and a half I did a little reasearch with the payroll company and found that they had missed out on 1500.00. So i wrote a letter to the owner of the company, where i had specifically documented the dates and the amounts that were owed to me. The owner after recieving the letter, had notified me the next day, that i was suspended and not allowed on the property untill further notice. After about two weeks, I had started to recieve some of the money owed to me, There reason was an error on their behalf. Since i did not recieve all my money I had called the owner back, who said he was finished with me, and paid me all he was going to pay. Not to mention he dropped my salary from 14.42/hr to 5.25/hr. He sent this notice on the 15th of may( same day i was suspended) and backdated the letter to the 28th of April.

I guess my questions is can he legally fire me, for sending him a letter demanding my wages. YES I DID SIGN A AT WILL AGREEMENT. And i do have proof he fired me because of the letter

If a pay cycle goes from the 23 - 7. Can he make a change on the 15th of may and backdate it to the 28th of April/ and could he change the rate of pay in the middle of a pay cycle.

I have been out of work for over a month and half now. Is there anything i can do to make this guy pay the price?

 

[Beth3]

Yes, he can fire you for the reasons you indicate, although it's not clear whether you were terminated for requesting the back pay, or whether he objected to the tone of your letter.

As to the pay you are owed, contact your State's Department of Labor/wage and hour division. At the very least, reducing your pay without prior notification is prohibited.

 

[offlim69]

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it was very clear that he terminated me for the contents in the letter.(requesting the back pay). From my understanding and maybe I have read it wrong, but, Despite the at will agree ment, he still can not violate maryland law. Which states that an employee may not be terminated for making a claim against wages. Si i am confused as to how he can terminate me legally

 

[Beth3]

But I expect that refers to making a claim with a government agency - your State's DOL or the federal DOL. With a few notable exceptions, there are very few protections when an employee complains directly to their employer about something.

Your State DOL can advise you for certain exactly what that language refers to however. You are correct that "at will" has limits and an employer cannot invoke at will as an excuse to violate the law. I strongly suspect that the law you refer to doesn't apply in this situation though.

 

[offlim69]

The dept of labor states that you must first notify your employer in writing before they will investigate any such claims. They will handle the monetary protion of the investigation but will not intervene with wrongful termination.

Do i have any legal grounds for holding the owner responsible for charging for equipment that he gave to me to use for company business, The equipment ( cell Phone ) was returned upon termination. But he still charged me 187.00?

 

[Beth3]

I can't comment on MD reg's in particular but nearly all States require an employee's express consent before an employer can make a payroll deduction and depending on the State, deductions for certain types of losses the employer incurs can't be charged to the employee at all.

I sound like a broken record but call the State DOL again.

 

[offlim69]

What is your feeling on an employer trying to implement a prayer room in its stores. And also asking applicants what religion they are, how many kids they have etc......

And also My freind And i both worked for this guy, who stated that I would recieve 65% of the profit soley based off the fact that I am married and that he would only get 35% because he was single. hey had also stated that my friend could not work for the company because he was not a christian. He is an atheist? I have all of this on video tape? The companies HR office did an internal investigation( upon my request )into the matter and terminated him as a client because of the liabilities this guy presented.

I appreciate your help in the matter, its nice to be able to get some advice and not pay 200/hr

 

[Beth3]

You only have to pay me $150 an hour.

1. It's not illegal for a company owner to institute prayer in the workplace but it's certainly pushing the envelope. If an employee opted not to participate and suffered any negative employment consequences as a result (termination, denied a promotion, no pay raise, etc.), they would have the basis of a claim for discrimination.

2. Ditto to asking applicants what religion they are. That is an especially stupid thing to do.

3. Discrimination on the basis of marital status is prohibited by many States. I don't know if MD is one of those but the State DOL could tell you.

4. Being denied employment on the basis of one's religious beliefs (even non-beliefs) is prohibited by federal law. Your friend should contact the EEOC to file a complaint.

5. I don't understand your statment about HR "terminating him as a client" because of the liabilities the guy presented. I'm confused about the business relationships you are referring to.

 

[offlim69]

he has a company that handles all of his payroll, beneifits and all hr issues. I filed a complaint with them and they had terminated him as a client, because of the issues that were arising from several employees.