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Please help-FORCED TO WORK FOR FREE + Not being paid raises and other issues

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ghostinthesound

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Maryland
Okay...my job is as an assistant manager. I typically work 45-50 hours a week, Monday through Sunday. My questions are these:
1)Many days my hours are from 9:30 in the morning to 9:30-10:00 at night...should i be getting extra pay or time and a half for hours worked that are over 12 in a single day? I do receive overtime for hours over 40 in a week.
2) At certain times when things are backed up in the store my boss has all employees come in when we are closed at night and sometimes work until 2-4 in the morning. Regular employees are told that this is WITHOUT pay, and that they will participate if they value their jobs. Since I am a manager, I am paid for these hours...but at my regular pay rate. Should I be receiving more? An example is this coming sunday he has planned to do this. I work from open to close- 10 am to 7 pm , and am expected to continue working at my regular pay rate until 2 in the morning. Is there anything I can do about this?
3) I am scared to say anything because i value my job. If I speak up and subsequently the hours I am given to work in a week diminish because my boss is "getting back" at me (I have seen him use this method with past employees), do i have any legal recourse?
4) At the beginning of our pay week (we are paid every two weeks) i was told that i would be receiving a pay raise. A week and a half later when I got my paycheck the raise was not applied. I feel cheated because during this particular pay period I had worked around 20 hours of overtime. I have a strong suspicion that my raise was held off until the NEXT paycheck to avoid paying me the increased rate. Am I owed the difference?
 


A

absconder

Guest
Theres new rules,how much do you make for a 40 hour week? It seems you have a valid labor dispute.Are you salary or hourly?
 

ghostinthesound

Junior Member
I am an hourly employee. Our Regular employees make $7.00 an hour and as a manager I "received" a raise (we'll see if it's on my next paycheck!) of $1.00 more an hour.
One of my paychecks was broken down like this
-for a two week period , 77.02 hours at $7.00 an hour, 16.34 hours at $10.50.
 

ghostinthesound

Junior Member
also , this saintly man, who is a world class motivator, has threatened myself and my co-manager to take away our raises that we have yet to receive if we dont perform better....is this legal?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
1)Many days my hours are from 9:30 in the morning to 9:30-10:00 at night...should i be getting extra pay or time and a half for hours worked that are over 12 in a single day?

No. Only a very, very few state require OT to be calculated on a daily basis, and Maryland is NOT one of them.

2) At certain times when things are backed up in the store my boss has all employees come in when we are closed at night and sometimes work until 2-4 in the morning. Regular employees are told that this is WITHOUT pay, and that they will participate if they value their jobs. Since I am a manager, I am paid for these hours...but at my regular pay rate.

A non-exempt employee CANNOT be asked to work without pay. So if the "regular" employees you refer to are non-exempt, they HAVE to be paid for this time.

If you qualify as an exempt employee, they don't HAVE to pay you any more than your regular salary regardless of what hours you work. If you are, or if you are treated as, a non-exempt employee, then again you have to be paid for this time. However, you do not have to be paid any kind of premium for these hours. Any hours over 40 in a week have to be paid at time and a half, but nothing in the law requires them to pay you a premium for working third shift.

3.) If I speak up and subsequently the hours I am given to work in a week diminish because my boss is "getting back" at me (I have seen him use this method with past employees), do i have any legal recourse?

Probably not, since with the exception of the employees who are being asked to work without pay (which does not include you) he's not doing anything illegal. IF you reporting the unpaid hours to the state DOL and you could prove that he lowered your hours BECAUSE OF that report, then yes, you would, but to the best of my knowledge Maryland does not offer protections to internal complaints.

4) At the beginning of our pay week (we are paid every two weeks) i was told that i would be receiving a pay raise. A week and a half later when I got my paycheck the raise was not applied. I feel cheated because during this particular pay period I had worked around 20 hours of overtime. I have a strong suspicion that my raise was held off until the NEXT paycheck to avoid paying me the increased rate. Am I owed the difference?

No. The ONLY time an employer is required by law to give you a raise, is if you are working at exactly minimum wage and minimum wage is raised by either your state legislature or an act of Congress. Barring a contract that specifically says otherwise, he can make your raise effective whenever he wants and does not have to make it retroactive.

also , this saintly man, who is a world class motivator, has threatened myself and my co-manager to take away our raises that we have yet to receive if we dont perform better....is this legal?

Yes. See above.
 
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