A
adrienna1026
Guest
What is the name of your state? Ohio
Is an employer required to pay an employee their normal wages while they are out on a business trip, or is this a matter of individual company policy?
The details, for those who want/need to know:
I ask because my employer recently sent me and 3 coworkers to a week-long conference. He paid for airfare, lodging and conference registration; we paid for rental cars and meals, plus we lost out on our regular pay while on the trip. All told each of us is out $400-600.
Friends and family I've talked with all say that in their companies they are paid their normal wages while on business trips; they also said, without exception, that the company should pay for transportation requirements (including rental cars) and all meals. The point being, if the company wants to send you, they should foot the bill.
I've never had to deal with such an issue before ,and wasn't aware until after returning from our trip and worrying about pay how other companies operate. I'm guessing it's up to individual companies how this operates, and whether an employee is salaried or hourly (we're all hourly) may play a part. While I can see how having all of us plus the 2 employers (husband and wife) out of town for that week means the business earned less money this month than normal, I don't think that excuses him from paying our normal salaries and our trip-related expenses; I'm sure he continued to draw his normal salary (and his wife too) during that time, and all his expenses will be written off as business.
So, are we out of luck here because it's the boss's perogative to pay us or not? Is there any legal backing for our side of wanting to be paid? (when you make as little as we do, this is a big hit to take). Thanks in advance.
A side issue for anyone who's read this far:
When I got the paycheck today for the period that included this business trip, I realized the payroll company did the math wrong. The total of my paycheck divided by the hours I worked comes out to an hourly rate $2 more than what I'm supposed to be paid. If I point this out, does the money go back to the company? Or is it mine by their error? If they find out 2 months from now and I admit I knew but said nothing, is that considered theft?
Is an employer required to pay an employee their normal wages while they are out on a business trip, or is this a matter of individual company policy?
The details, for those who want/need to know:
I ask because my employer recently sent me and 3 coworkers to a week-long conference. He paid for airfare, lodging and conference registration; we paid for rental cars and meals, plus we lost out on our regular pay while on the trip. All told each of us is out $400-600.
Friends and family I've talked with all say that in their companies they are paid their normal wages while on business trips; they also said, without exception, that the company should pay for transportation requirements (including rental cars) and all meals. The point being, if the company wants to send you, they should foot the bill.
I've never had to deal with such an issue before ,and wasn't aware until after returning from our trip and worrying about pay how other companies operate. I'm guessing it's up to individual companies how this operates, and whether an employee is salaried or hourly (we're all hourly) may play a part. While I can see how having all of us plus the 2 employers (husband and wife) out of town for that week means the business earned less money this month than normal, I don't think that excuses him from paying our normal salaries and our trip-related expenses; I'm sure he continued to draw his normal salary (and his wife too) during that time, and all his expenses will be written off as business.
So, are we out of luck here because it's the boss's perogative to pay us or not? Is there any legal backing for our side of wanting to be paid? (when you make as little as we do, this is a big hit to take). Thanks in advance.
A side issue for anyone who's read this far:
When I got the paycheck today for the period that included this business trip, I realized the payroll company did the math wrong. The total of my paycheck divided by the hours I worked comes out to an hourly rate $2 more than what I'm supposed to be paid. If I point this out, does the money go back to the company? Or is it mine by their error? If they find out 2 months from now and I admit I knew but said nothing, is that considered theft?