Your salary can be reduced by any amount. However, if you are an hourly (non-exempt) worker, your employer cannot reduce your wage to below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. If your state has a higher minimum wage, your employer must meet that threshold. For example, California`s minimum wage is $14.00/hour for employers with more than 25 employees and $13.00/hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees. If your employer has reduced your salary or hours, you may be wondering if it`s legal. In many cases, it is legal for employers to reduce employees` hours of work or wages. Random employees are usually not guaranteed a certain number of hours of work per week or that their salary will remain the same. Unless you work under a collective agreement or employment contract, your employer can usually reduce your hours of work and wages. However, there are situations where working time and wage cuts are illegal. Swartz Swidler`s lawyers can help you determine if your employer acted illegally when your pay or hours were reduced. If you learn about the pay cut after you have already resigned, you can file a complaint with your State Department of Labor. They will listen to you and hopefully take care of it for you.
There`s no law that says you have to get a raise every year – or a bonus. While state minimum wages sometimes change, and employers must comply with these laws (the federal minimum wage hasn`t changed in more than a decade), they don`t have to change employees` wages unless they are contractually obligated to do so. However, not all employers are obliged to pay minimum wage. For the employer to pay its employees a minimum wage, the company must generate annual revenues of $500,000 or more. Second, your employees must work in interstate commerce, which usually means doing business between states. Most employees look forward to that time of year when they expect a raise, but they probably never could have imagined that their pay could drop. However, it can happen more often than most people think, especially recently due to the coronavirus pandemic. There are situations where it is legal for an employer to reduce the rate of pay for its employees, but there are also situations where it is not legal for it to do so. Your next step would be to contact the HR department as well as your boss`s boss. After you`ve exhausted all your internal options, you should call your State Department of Labor before taking legal action. Yes, but only if there is an employment contract or collective agreement. If you don`t have a contract, your employer can reduce your hours by law or reduce your wages, and you may have no recourse.
The first question we need to ask ourselves when deciding whether an employer can reduce an employee`s rate of pay is why. Why this pay cut? Why this employee? Discrimination on the basis of a protected characteristic such as race, sex, religion, age or national origin is illegal in the workplace. This means that an employer cannot lower an employee`s wage rate based on a protected characteristic. Reprisals for “protected activities” are also illegal. Protected activities may include complaints of unlawful discrimination or harassment, complaints of non-payment of overtime, and reporting illegal activities by an employer to a government agency. It is illegal for an employer to reduce an employee`s salary for discriminatory reasons or retaliation. Employers must inform their employees that they are reducing their wages before working one hour at the new reduced rate. Employers are not allowed to reduce your paycheck just because they are angry that you have filed your resignation or because they are unable to pay the payroll. Please note that although the information provided is authoritative, it cannot be guaranteed to be accurate and legal. The website is read by a global audience and labor laws and regulations vary from state to state and country to country.
Please seek legal assistance or assistance from state, federal, or international government resources to ensure that your legal interpretation and decisions are correct for your location. This information serves as a guide, ideas and help. Employees are no exception when it comes to a potential pay cut. While full-time employees must receive the agreed salary for work already done, they are still subject to a pay cut. However, an employer must inform an employee in advance and the employee must accept the lower rate of pay. If your employer has reduced your hours or salary, it`s wise to speak to a labor attorney in Los Angeles to discuss the legality of your employer`s decision. Make an appointment with our lawyers at Obagi Law Group, P.C. at 424-284-2401.
It is important to discuss your particular case with a Los Angeles wage and hours claims attorney at Obagi Law Group, P.C. to determine the legality of your employer`s actions. If you find yourself in a situation where you discover that the pay cut you received was illegal after leaving a job, you can file a complaint with your State Department of Labor. While this is not a guarantee that they can help you, they can at least follow up and investigate the situation. Generally, an employer can legally reduce your salary if you are a volunteer employee. However, to reiterate, most states have found that the employer must first notify you of the pay cut. In addition, some States stipulated that such notification should be in writing. Once you have been notified, the employer may pay you at the lower rate.
Although your employer may reduce your salary, in certain circumstances you have a legal claim against your employer to get a pay cut. For example, if you have an employment contract that provides for certain compensation, your employer may violate that agreement if they reduce your salary. Another example: if a collective agreement (CBA) regulates the working conditions of your job, such as wages, your employer may violate the collective agreement by reducing wages. You may also have a claim against your employer for a reduction in your salary if they did so for discriminatory reasons (i.e. race, colour, national origin, religion, disability, age or other protected characteristics) or retaliation (i.e. because you complained or denounced discrimination). If your employer cuts your wages or hours for no reason — or perhaps in an effort to force you to quit — you may be wondering if you can file a wage and hours of work claim against your employer. There are a number of situations where it is considered illegal for an employer to reduce wages. It is important to be aware of these situations so that action can be taken if necessary. If you think you are a victim of illegal payment practices, call Gold Star Law for assistance. Most employees are considered employees at will. These workers do not work under collective agreements or employment contracts.
Arbitrary workers can reduce their wages and reduce their working hours whenever the employer wishes, with some exceptions. It is important to note that employees may still be covered by their state or local laws, if not at the federal level. For employees who earn tips, minimum wage guidelines may vary because federal law allows employers to pay a different hourly rate for employees who receive tips on a regular basis. However, these tips must be sufficient to meet the minimum wage requirements. The short answer is yes – in the vast majority of cases, pay cuts are perfectly legal. This is because most employment contracts in the United States are made at will, meaning that both employer and employee can terminate the relationship at any time for any reason, with certain restrictions, such as for discriminatory purposes. They may be dismissed or dismissed, depending on the conditions of employment at will. This also applies to changes in payment terms, including reductions in wages, hours of work, benefits, etc.
Being a volunteer also means that the number of hours you work for your employer is not guaranteed. However, if there is a job or collective agreement, your employer may not be able to reduce your wages or hours of work by law. Does that mean that if your boss says, “I`m cutting your salary,” you can say, “No thanks, I`m going to continue with the higher pay rate”? Not quite, but what you can do – stop – before working at the lower wage rate offered. This is legal and may make the most sense to you if your employer is trying to reduce your salary. Your boss must tell you that he will reduce your pay before you work a single hour at the new rate. Some states simply require your boss to say, “Starting tomorrow, you`ll make $8 an hour instead of $10 an hour.” Other states require your boss to notify you in writing of the pay cut. While pay cuts aren`t ideal, they`re not always the disaster you might fear. In fact, they can sometimes serve you well and open doors to even better opportunities that will make you happier and more fulfilling in the long run and even allow you to pursue your dream career.
The following situations constitute an illegal wage reduction: This means that you can quit your job before you do a job at the lower wage rate offered. This is legal and may make the most sense to you if your employer orders a pay cut. Is it illegal for an employer to reduce your salary or hours of work for no reason? Some employers fire workers, which means they employ them for a period of time without pay. This has become common during the pandemic. The leave is also known as leave and the employee is not paid for the duration of their leave.