My wife's former employment (Deceptive Hiring Practices & Contract Law case)

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lucutious

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I am seeking advise on the following:

My wife replied to a staffing agency's job posting and was subsequently hired. The original job description was very specific, listing percentages of time they would be doing certain work. Once on the job, it was no where near what my wife had been told. Additionally, in the interview process my wife was told specifically that this company is such a great place they haven't had to hire someone new in over 120 days. The truth is that the company is a constantly revolving door, likely due to these deceptive hiring practices.

Regardless, we needed the paycheck so my wife stayed in the company. On October 3rd we found out that I could procure tickets to the Nebraska vs Ohio State football game. I immediately informed my wife who then requested Oct 8th off from work. The employer declined, stating that they needed her to work until 14:15 due to low manning issues. My wife accepted that compromise as the game didn't start until 19:00. She notified me and I procured the tickets.

Fast forward to Thursday October 6th. My wife's work schedule was Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday. As a result, she was home on Thursday. She recieved a call from the staffing agency stating that she either work her enture shift on Saturday or she doesn't have a job. My wife informed them that the client agreed to her going home at 14:15 on Monday, and under that premise she had me spend money on tickets, parking, etc. My wife opted to continue to the game, terminating her job.

My wife recieved her final paycheck in which her pay was reduced from 12:00/hour to 7:25/hour. She immediately called to protest and the owner of the staffing company replied with an allegedly signed document that states the following: (The owner sent a blank copy, not a signed copy, my wife doens't remember signing this but also recognizes that she may have done so and not remember it.)
You are entitled to the quoted wage rate, if any only if, all of the following terms and conditions are met: 1) give 48 hour (2 business days) notice prior to voluntarily terminating your employment for any reason, and 2) complete the assignment as agreed upon. If you fail to satisfy all terms and conditions of employment, your wage rate will be reduced to the current minimum hourly wage rate, specified by law, regardless of any pay rate previously quoted.

My questions are this:

Are the deceptive hiring practices actionable?

Is the quoted agreement above enforceable given that my wife was not given a chance at 48 hours notice? I agree that 48 hours notice was not given, but when my wife left work on Wednesday she had full intentions of going to work as scheduled on Saturday. The ultimatum came Thursday, and as such didn't allow her 48 hours notice.

If we proceed, the damages in this case do not exceed the limits of a small claims case so that is where the dispute would be handled. Additionally, if we do decide to proceed I believe we would attempt to use a portion of Nebraska law that would entitle her to 2x the difference in wages paid.

Can I get a couple people's thoughts on this matter?
 
1.) No. What you describe does not meet the legal definition of a deceptive (or unfair) hiring practice and is not illegal. It should also be noted that the staffing agency, not the client, is your wife's employer and client's permission for her to leave early is not binding on the staffing agency.

2. Your wife also had the option of obeying her employer, who is not the client, and going to work on Saturday. She voluntarily chose not to do so.
 
Thank you sir,

Am I reading this right that you believe she does not have a winnable case? Does it change anything if we can prove that the employment agency both knew and approved of her abbreviated hours on Saturday prior to Thursday?
 
Your wife made a choice.

In turn, her employer made a subsequent choice.

Are you free to file a lawsuit?

Yes, you are.

Will you prevail.

No you won't.

You have nothing on which to base a cause of action.

If the hiring practices were deceptive, that has nothing to do with her subsequent decision to not report to work.

Her wages were reduced in accordance with an alleged employment letter she can't recall signing.

If you sue, expect the employer to produce a signed acknowledgment.

As stated by "cbg", nothing actionable here.

Move along, move along.
 
FYI, there is no "we" here. You have no standing to do anything at all with relation to your wife's employment.
 
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