• Possible Wage-Theft, Need Advice
    8 replies, posted
Up until a week ago I was employed as an overnight baker at a local donut shop, my manager and I didn't get along very well and I finally walked out after I had complaints with the workload (72 dozen donut bakes per night, guidelines recommend UP TO 60 doz per each overnight baker) which were ignored. I left without any notice. Fast forward one week, my last paycheck is loaded on my card, about $100 dollars short of what I had clocked. I checked my paystubs for the last week and sure enough I have about 12 hours not clocked on my check, in addition to that my hourly wage had been dropped from $9.75 to $8.05. Normally I'd consider this a possible accident and demand back-pay but considering that I left on bad terms, could this have been done as retaliation for walking out? I have all of my paystubs as definitive proof of underpayment.
It sounds like it is, HOWEVER, i don't have any experience dealing with this, so i cant say for sure.
I would contact the employer first and see why it was done. Bring copies of your paystubs just incase they try to pull some bullshit. If they won't help you, then did you keep track of the hours that you worked? If not that part may be a bit difficult, unless you have a way to show your schedule. If you have proof of both, or at least one, then you may need to try and contact some authority to try and get this resolved, as its highly illegal.
[QUOTE=Nookyava;50396365]I would contact the employer first and see why it was done. Bring copies of your paystubs just incase they try to pull some bullshit. If they won't help you, then did you keep track of the hours that you worked? If not that part may be a bit difficult, unless you have a way to show your schedule. If you have proof of both, or at least one, then you may need to try and contact some authority to try and get this resolved, as its highly illegal.[/QUOTE] Thanks, and yeah, I've kept all of my stubs which show exactly how many hours I had on the clock. I'll contact the district mgr and see if they can't get me an immediate reimbursement, if not, I will update this thread.
[url]https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/[/url] is a great place to ask for advice on these situations. Tell whoever is in charge of payroll there that you're missing some payment on hours you've worked, show them your documents when requested (pay stubs, bank statements). If any dispute happens, I believe you can take it to a small claims court where you shouldn't have much trouble considering you have all the proof required.
[QUOTE=nox;50396401]Thanks, and yeah, I've kept all of my stubs which show exactly how many hours I had on the clock. I'll contact the district mgr and see if they can't get me an immediate reimbursement, if not, I will update this thread.[/QUOTE] Do update, interested.
I find it incredible you noticed and let alone clocked it. Everyone could easily pull this shit off on me, I'm probably the biggest doof there is concerning this stuff
[QUOTE=nox;50396345]Up until a week ago I was employed as an overnight baker at a local donut shop, my manager and I didn't get along very well and I finally walked out after I had complaints with the workload (72 dozen donut bakes per night, guidelines recommend UP TO 60 doz per each overnight baker) which were ignored. I left without any notice. Fast forward one week, my last paycheck is loaded on my card, about $100 dollars short of what I had clocked. I checked my paystubs for the last week and sure enough I have about 12 hours not clocked on my check, in addition to that my hourly wage had been dropped from $9.75 to $8.05. Normally I'd consider this a possible accident and demand back-pay but considering that I left on bad terms, could this have been done as retaliation for walking out? I have all of my paystubs as definitive proof of underpayment.[/QUOTE] I would personally contact your employer and demand an explanation for this. If they refuse to tell you why, or give you some bullshit reason threaten that you will contact your states respective department of labor. This right here is plenty enough to get them going. If they get cocky with you, actually contact the DOL. They are not authorized to remove hours from your check, and they can't just simply drop your hourly rate down without it being formally written and approved by both parties (you and your employer). The department of labor /may/ be able to help. If not, they'll cause a lot of trouble with the company as they will audit their entire records. If you know any other employees (current/former) that had this same issue, have them file similar reports. Discrepencies will typically result in fines, or if there is gross neglegence in paying their employees fairly, revocation of their operating license(s). [editline]27th May 2016[/editline] worst case, you can get a lawyer. They will review your case for free, and will typically not charge you unless they win. This means they won't take a case if its baseless.
[QUOTE=nox;50396345]Up until a week ago I was employed as an overnight baker at a local donut shop, my manager and I didn't get along very well and I finally walked out after I had complaints with the workload (72 dozen donut bakes per night, guidelines recommend UP TO 60 doz per each overnight baker) which were ignored. I left without any notice. Fast forward one week, my last paycheck is loaded on my card, about $100 dollars short of what I had clocked. I checked my paystubs for the last week and sure enough I have about 12 hours not clocked on my check, in addition to that my hourly wage had been dropped from $9.75 to $8.05. Normally I'd consider this a possible accident and demand back-pay but considering that I left on bad terms, could this have been done as retaliation for walking out? I have all of my paystubs as definitive proof of underpayment.[/QUOTE] Could it be because you left without any notice? Do you have a copy of your contract that you signed when you started working there? There might be a clause or something that was agreed to to cover the business in case anyone just decides to walk out.
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