Never Been Paid Like THIS... Is it legal??

[melmel1277]

What do you suggest I do to see if they are in violation??

 

[ecmst12]

You need to file a wage claim with the DOL. It seems like an end run around paying you the full amount you should be getting for your overtime. I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like to me.

 

[cbg]

Whether the state is or is not at-will has nothing at all to do with wage and hour laws. BTW, 49 out of 50 states are at-will, and the 50th state recognizes at-will in some situations. Wage laws exist independently of the at-will doctrine.

The very base of wage and hour law is set at the Federal level. A state can have more generous laws than Federal but every employer with only very rare exceptions are subject to Federal wage and hour. We generally (not always) recommend going to the state DOL when the state laws are more generous, because the Federal DOL will only support Federal minimum wage, plus overtime. State law will go after what the state provides.

So in your case you would go to the IL DOL since IL laws are more generous. I agree with the majority that this appears to be a violation of OT regs,

 

[anteater]

Out of curiosity, how are you going to prove...

I get paid $15/hr as a manager of two small cafes.

... when your stub says that your straight time rate is $10.50?

 

[Zigner]

Out of curiosity, how are you going to prove...



... when your stub says that your straight time rate is $10.50?

By showing a "bonus" that is unchanging every paycheck without there being any sort of agreement that it is to be considered a lump-sum bonus paid out over time.

 

[LdiJ]

By showing a "bonus" that is unchanging every paycheck without there being any sort of agreement that it is to be considered a lump-sum bonus paid out over time.

My concern would be if his overtime fluctuates at all the bonus may fluctuate...because the amount needed to get him to 15.00 per hour might then fluctuate.

 

[Zigner]

My concern would be if his overtime fluctuates at all the bonus may fluctuate...because the amount needed to get him to 15.00 per hour might then fluctuate.

I'm sure that's their concern too - thus the reason they've decided to ignore the law and structure the pay in this manner.

 

[LdiJ]

I'm sure that's their concern too - thus the reason they've decided to ignore the law and structure the pay in this manner.

I think we are talking about two different things. You stated that showing a bonus that was unchanging every week would be good evidence. I was pointing out that the bonus might actually change every week, which could make proving things a little trickier...although, if he were to put together a spreadsheet of as many paystubs as possible to show that his bonus always makes his pay equal exactly 15.00 per every hour worked, that might help.

 

[Zigner]

I think we are talking about two different things. You stated that showing a bonus that was unchanging every week would be good evidence. I was pointing out that the bonus might actually change every week, which could make proving things a little trickier...although, if he were to put together a spreadsheet of as many paystubs as possible to show that his bonus always makes his pay equal exactly 15.00 per every hour worked, that might help.

Ok, I see what you mean. In any case, I still think the OP has good reason to talk to the DOL.

 

[LdiJ]

Ok, I see what you mean. In any case, I still think the OP has good reason to talk to the DOL.

I just ran the numbers from the paycheck that he gave us and it came out to 15.11 per hour.

Something has just occurred to me that could be what is happening here.

In my industry its very common to advertise an hourly rate that is based on an average. So, for example we might advertise an hourly rate for seasonal help that would range from 20.00 to 30.00 per hour. However, what is explained during the interview process is that the actually hourly rate might be $15.00 per hour with a seasonal bonus paid, based on performance, that might bring the employees pay to an average of 20-30 per hour.

If this employer is doing something similar, and his average hourly rate really does fluctuate, the employer might not be doing anything wrong. If the employer can demonstrate that the biweekly (it appears to be biweekly in this case) bonus is directly tied to café sales, or something else measurable, that might change everything.

 

[Zigner]

I just ran the numbers from the paycheck that he gave us and it came out to 15.11 per hour.

Something has just occurred to me that could be what is happening here.

In my industry its very common to advertise an hourly rate that is based on an average. So, for example we might advertise an hourly rate for seasonal help that would range from 20.00 to 30.00 per hour. However, what is explained during the interview process is that the actually hourly rate might be $15.00 per hour with a seasonal bonus paid, based on performance, that might bring the employees pay to an average of 20-30 per hour.

If this employer is doing something similar, and his average hourly rate really does fluctuate, the employer might not be doing anything wrong. If the employer can demonstrate that the biweekly (it appears to be biweekly in this case) bonus is directly tied to café sales, or something else measurable, that might change everything.

I suspect that the OP would have mentioned this sort of thing. We can make all sorts of suppositions, but the best course of action for the OP, if he is truly concerned, is to contact his state's DOL.

 

[LdiJ]

I suspect that the OP would have mentioned this sort of thing. We can make all sorts of suppositions, but the best course of action for the OP, if he is truly concerned, is to contact his state's DOL.

Of course he can do that if something nefarious is going on, but it will strain his relationship with his employer. If there is a chance that the employer is not doing something nefarious, he should at least be aware of the possibilities.

 

[ecmst12]

Filing a claim with the DOL is in fact a protected activity.

 

[LdiJ]

Filing a claim with the DOL is in fact a protected activity.

Of course it is. Its still going to strain his relationship with his employer.

 

[melmel1277]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will bring this to my employers attention one last time.. He usually ignores me and changes subjects. I just get paid quite a bit less now than I did over the last 7 years (especially taking over two cafes, instead of one) with the way he does his pay. I was getting $12/hr with overtime based on the $12. Now it's just a mess and I really don't think it's fair. I am missing out on like $7/hr when I get overtime!! I was never told I would be getting paid this way either. I am currently looking for a new job because of this situation and many other reasons. Would I still be able to contact the DOL if I no longer work there or do I have to be employed there? I plan on leaving so I have no problem contacting the DOL.