Reducing an employee's salary / rate of pay

[infocus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

As an employer, am I legally allowed to reduce an employee's salary because i am hiring
another employee? (which will increase total costs of business)

Also, how much notice do I need to give an employee before I reduce their salary?

 

[cbg]

As an employer, am I legally allowed to reduce an employee's salary because i am hiring another employee? Yes. It's an employee relations nightmare, but it is legal.

Also, how much notice do I need to give an employee before I reduce their salary? If memory serves, CA is not one of the few states where the amount of notice needed for a wage reduction is set by law. (I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.) If I am right, then you only need notify the employee before they work any wages at the lower wage.

 

[infocus]

Thanks, while we are waiting to see if CA law requires notice or not, how about this one:

Can I restrict overtime hours? That is, can I tell an employee that they cannot work beyond the standard 40-hour workweek?

I do understand that if they go overtime, they have to get paid for that. But if I tell them not to clock overtime hours, then they should not. And if they do, can I implement some kind of disciplinary action - if so, what would be legal?

 

[justalayman]

infocus;3001987]

Can I restrict overtime hours? That is, can I tell an employee that they cannot work beyond the standard 40-hour workweek?

unless there is a contract stating otherwise, you can have them work 40 minutes a week or 168 hours per week.

I do understand that if they go overtime, they have to get paid for that. But if I tell them not to clock overtime hours, then they should not. And if they do, can I implement some kind of disciplinary action - if so, what would be legal?

You have to pay them for any time they did work whether you approved of it or not. You can discipline them as you choose, including firing them, for insubordination though.

 

[swalsh411]

You absolutely may discipline them for working unauthorized overtime up to and including termination.

 

[eerelations]

However if they do work unauthorized overtime, you are legally required to pay them for it, at OT rates.

 

[infocus]

What are some examples of standard disciplinary actions that are taken?

Still wondering if you need to give warning to reduce wage in CA. I would give at least 2 weeks myself, but curious what the law is, if any.

 

[mlane58]

California does not have a law addressing when or how an employer may reduce an employees wages or whether an employer must provide employees notice prior to instituting a wage reduction.

However, the California Dept. of Industrial Relations states that an employer must give an employee prior notice of a change in pay periods. This notice requirement would apply to any reduction in wage rates as well. Moreover, a wage reduction can only be applied to hours worked after the
change and cannot be applied to hours already worked.

 

[eerelations]

What are some examples of standard disciplinary actions that are taken?

Written warnings, unpaid suspensions, termination.

 

[infocus]

Okay, so the employee in question has a temper problem and will probably explode upon hearing of a pay reduction. If he really flies off the handle, at what point can I flat-out fire him for insubordination? What is the line?

Or would it be strategically preferable to remain quiet and take the verbal abuse I am sure to get, and if he so chooses, let him go ahead and terminate his employment if he is really so unhappy. Again, he will make the lives of all the other staff miserable because of his emotional instability, so i have that to consider as well.

Your advice is appreciated with this sensitive issue!

 

[eerelations]

Unless your employee has a contract that states otherwise, he is an "at-will" employee. This means you can fire him anytime for any reason except a reason specifically prohibited by law. Prohibited reasons include things like race, gender, disability, religion and age (but only if he's over 40). "Not quite insubordination" is not a prohibited reason.

If your employee is truly "at-will" and this whole exercise was actually more about firing him than reducing his pay, you may feel free to go ahead and fire him now - just because.

 

[commentator]

No person who is employed has any right to verbally abuse the person who is employing him. None. If he "flies off the handle" when you tell him about the pay decrease, tell him "This is unacceptable. If you continue to speak to me in this way, you are going to be asked to leave."

If he's really stupid as well as mean, he'll say, "Okay, I'll just leave, you so and so, I quit!"

But if he won't quit, and doesn't pipe down, tell him that you are terminating him for his behavior. If the behavior escalates when that happens, call the police and have him removed from the premises.

It is wrong to subject yourself and the other employees to a bully in the workplace, especially when YOU are paying HIM to work for you.

Do not listen to him rant and threaten lawsuits. You actually can fire him "at Will." Under these circumstances, he can file for unemployment insurance, but likely will not even be approved for that. DO take it seriously if he makes serious threats, such as "I'll come back here and blow your head off." Don't be dumb. Call the police, get protection from him.

 

[infocus]

When i fire him, if he asks for a reason, do i have to give him one? if i start listing complaints, he will simply continue to argue all of those complaints and create more tantrums.

He is also diagnosed with various medical conditions such as ADHD. Is this considered a disability? Regardless, his personality is very dramatic, he flies off the handle and is reckless at times.

Does someone who is fired have any chance of filing a case with a labor board or a lawsuit if i don't provide any explanation of said firing in writing? in other words, how can i protect myself from the employee taking vengeance in this way?

FYI, this is not necessarily an exercise in firing the person, just exploring all the options. Never had to deal with this situation before.

 

[cbg]

(a) When i fire him, if he asks for a reason, do i have to give him one? if i start listing complaints, he will simply continue to argue all of those complaints and create more tantrums. You are under no legal obligation to say anything beyond, Mr. Employee, your services are no longer required. Here is your final check; don't let the door hit you on the way out.

(b) He is also diagnosed with various medical conditions such as ADHD. Is this considered a disability? It can be. However, unless he has a valid and supportable reason to believe, and can show support for that belief, that he is being fired BECAUSE of that disability, it's really irrelevant whether he does or not. How many employees overall do you have?

c) Does someone who is fired have any chance of filing a case with a labor board or a lawsuit if i don't provide any explanation of said firing in writing? in other words, how can i protect myself from the employee taking vengeance in this way? While you are not required to provide a reason, not doing so can lead an employee to believe that he was targeted for termination for an illegal reason. But before we go any further with this, please answer the question I posed in my answer to (b), because it's not impossible that answer could have an affect on the answer to (c).

 

[ecmst12]

It is likely that he will be granted unemployment if you fire him just because you don't like his attitude, without giving him any warnings or anything. But it sounds like that would be much preferable than having him continue to work for you.