Paying For Classes

[66stang]

I recently had a friend call me and ask my advice about what to do with her boss. I'll go ahead and give you the story. Jenny (my friend), was working at a salon and her boss made her buy shirts, which she didn't recieve, attend classes which she was paid for, and was told that she had to have a certification by June 1st or she wouldn't be able to work there anymore. About a month ago, she found a better job and gave her boss two weeks notice. Her boss wasn't happy about this. When she went to go pick up her final pay check, it was only about three dollars when it should have been well over three hundred. Her bosses explanation for this was the payment for the shirts, and that since Jenny was paid to go to the classes to learn about the salon's products, that her time for the classes would no longer be paid for, even though her boss told her that she would be payed for that time. When I asked her if she had signed anything, or agreed to anythings, she said no other than a sheet saying that she had recieved the employee handbook in which there was no reference to class compensation or shirt fees. I didn't really know what else to tell her, and I feel really bad for her because she is a single mother who is just trying to make her way in the world. Any advice helps. Thanks.

 

[Beth3]

Jenny should contact her State's Department of Labor/wage and hour division and file a complaint. There is no question that her former employer has acted unlawfully by making these payroll deductions.

 

[66stang]

Thank you for you're advice; I'll let her know.