worked docked me pay for late timesheet, legal?

[appleboy]

I work for a small company who hates late timesheets so they decided to implement a one hour deduction for a timesheet turned in late. I never said I agreed, although the other guys did and I was notified about it.

I have been docked several hours of which they haven't actually notified me that I was being docked for them being late, I only just found out today about one time out of I don't know how many, and it just happened to be a fluke that I noticed it on a timesheet still sitting out.

is this legal to do?

background:
I work at a two year old company in aliso viejo, california.

 

[seniorjudge]

I work for a small company who hates late timesheets so they decided to implement a one hour deduction for a timesheet turned in late. I never said I agreed, although the other guys did and I was notified about it.

I have been docked several hours of which they haven't actually notified me that I was being docked for them being late, I only just found out today about one time out of I don't know how many, and it just happened to be a fluke that I noticed it on a timesheet still sitting out.

is this legal to do?

background:
I work at a two year old company in aliso viejo, california.

Q: is this legal to do?

A: Yes.

 

[appleboy]

how so? I've been told that if you work at hourly wage that you must get paid for what you work, no?

 

[punkin]

contact the agency in your state that governs these issues....they will be able to clarify the laws concerning this matter....Dept of Consumer Affairs will be able to tell you which agency governs these issues..

 

[appleboy]

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Deductions.htm

by that I read that it's illegal, no?

 

[punkin]

i really cant answer that question...did you call the agency for clarification of the laws and your specific issues ? there should be a toll free number.. if it were me i would make that call to them and hopefully they will be able to give you an absolute answer.

 

[punkin]

i went to your link...pay close attention to questions 1 and 2 and 6 and 7...to me it sounds like they arent allowed to do what you stated they did, but , you really need to clarify this with the correct agency...apparently you found the correct website....ask about the "file a wage claim" part of the laws to question if you do in fact have a legitimate claim. employers cant fire you for making a claim against them, but ,they could sure make your life and job tough and make you WANT to leave your postion. just be careful and think this thing through completely,weighing pros and cons , before takng any action....have you discussed this with officials at your place of employment ?

 

[appleboy]

I wanted to verify that it is indeed illegal for them to do it before I start questioning my boss' actions and get him pissed off. I definitely plan on taking it up with him first though.

 

[punkin]

i hope all works out for you...keep us posted....i hate to see anyones wages messed with..i hope that i was able to help...why dont you make a copy of the page you found stating laws and keep it in your pocket just in case you need to show someone

 

[cbg]

I'm sorry I didn't see this post sooner. Yes, it is illegal to dock you because you turned in your timesheet late. However, they may discipline you in any other way, shape or form that they find appropriate, including termination.

You can be docked because YOU are late, but only the amount of time you were actually later. If you were 15 minutes late, you can be docked 15 minutes. If you were an hour late, you can be docked an hour.

If your employers refuse to make good on the docked time, you can file a complaint with the state DOL. But the easiest way to make this problem go away is to turn your timesheet in on time.

 

[Zigner]

You can be docked because YOU are late, but only the amount of time you were actually later. If you were 15 minutes late, you can be docked 15 minutes. If you were an hour late, you can be docked an hour.

This isn't quite right. If the time you are late is less than 1/2 hour, the employer can deduct up to 1/2 hour's worth of pay.
For example: If you earn $10 per hour and you are 45 mins late, employer can deduct $7.50. But, if you are 5 minutes late, employer can deduct $5

 

[cbg]

Actually, it is right and you are the one who is not right. Under the FLSA, an employee has to be paid for all the time you actually work. Rounding is permitted, but only in increments not to exceed 15 minutes.

 

[appleboy]

I got a nice job for the most part, I get to come in whenever I want (although by 8:30AM) and then I can leave after all my stuff is done.

The thing is they need to keep track of what I've done for the day to be able to bill our clients, because I lab equipment and program remote controls before they go out on the job. To do this, we have timesheets that we fill in with what we did throughout the day and how long we spent on each thing. the whole system is based on the "honor system" which pretty much everybody stays truthful to.

People were having a tendency to turn them in a day or two late which was annoying the boss. this happened to be because most people were also filling them in a day or two late with improper information. I fill my in throughout the day so I know mine is correct (granted I screwed up this last week a bit and left a few blank spots) but their term for late is if you don't turn it in by the next morning you work. this screws me over because I don't work monday, so I think they're marking friday as late when I turn it in on teusday, but I didn't get a date.

Anyway, all that aside I must now come up with the most polite way to email my boss about this where I won't make him angry at me to the point where he tries to do something else. My hope is to get him to pay back what he hasn't told me about to save him the troubles of going through the labor law thingy, because that would be especially bad for the company and I still like them as people.

thanks for the info, now anybody have any suggestions about how to write the email? (I have a tendency to write emails that piss him off when I'm mad)

 

[punkin]

be gracious ..dont accuse so quickly..you must be diplomatic to say the least..also if you are critical in certain areas be sure to "sandwich " with a compliment...such as "this is a great place to work and i so enjoy my work ,i am fortunate to be workng for such a great company, but , there is something that is bothering me and i would very much like to discuss it, could i have a minute of your time " ? just an example of what you might say**************..just dont go in angry and defensive...give the guy a chance to explain..he deserves for his side to be heard as well..its important to be a good listener as well...respect is earned ...be respectful to him and hopefully he will in return respect you for your willingness to discuss. .this is the best case scenario of course and i am assuming he is a reasonable guy...i certainly cant predict his reaction to any approach you take...but the old adage says you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar...and DONT fly off the handle....BE COOL !!!! let me know how it goes ...

 

[appleboy]

when a deduction is expressly authorized in writing by the employee to cover insurance premiums, benefit plan contributions or other deductions not amounting to a rebate on the employee’s wages

that's an excerpt from the page. does that mean if I authorize in writing that they can deduct for a late timesheet that it then becomes legal? or is it still just plain illegal?