M
mark w
Guest
- Jurisdiction
- Illinois
I started working for a company in Jan. 2014 as a baker for $9.35/hr. My pay was increased to $9.65 after a 3 month probationary period. Within the first year I was moved to the Mexican-food cook position, which was fine, no problem. Shortly after my first full year as a baker/cook I was promoted to be the Grill Cook and Lead of the smaller kitchen which included supervisory responsibilities and given a wage increase to $10.00/hr. I also agreed to do work for the vending position every other weekend and work for my supervisor on days that she left early at my same pay rate even though they are both paid more than my wage, but I have no complaints about that, in and of itself. Over nearly 2 years since receiving the Lead/Cook promotion, I have been given a 25 cent raise for a total of $10.25/hr. by Dec. 2016. The problem is that a co-worker who started at the company during the same month as myself and was promoted to doing the same supervisory work as myself (only A-shift whereas I'm B-shift) is being paid $11.50/hr. To the best of my knowledge, she has received approximately $2.00/hr. in raises during the time that I have been increased 25 cents, while she does not have the extra jobs of ever filling in for the vendor or higher supervisor. My performance reviews have been excellent throughout my time there, on my most recent one receiving 5 out of 5 stars in 48 categories and 4 out of 5 stars in 2 categories for an average of 4.96 stars which my supervisor said was the best she has ever given to go along with a comment, "Mark is an example of the perfect employee." My attendance was completely perfect over the 3 years of my employment there and had never received any "points" for bad behavior or disobedience of any kind. Most of the recently hired cooks (there for less than a year) are being paid $10.00/hr. while at least one who started about 7 months after me is being paid $11.50/hr. with no supervisory responsibilities whatsoever. I did find employment elsewhere and put in my 2 weeks notice. The next day, the assistant GM asked me into the office one on one. She told me that I have been "severely underpaid" for all that I do & "a person can only be taken advantage of for so long." Then I was offered $11.50/hr., however, what about the time of being taken advantage of with severely underpaid wages? I'm not accepting the offer and will be moving on to my new job. If roles were reversed and I was the woman or minority in comparison to a white male co-worker, I feel confident that I could easily win a case for about $2000-
$3000 in back pay. However, since I am a white male, is it just a case where I should have tried harder to be a better negotiator for a raise. Does this company have an obligation to keep all wages equal based on equal (and more) job responsibilities or is it their right to pay whatever they want to whoever they want? Does it make a difference if the company handbook has a compensation policy that states "wages are based on required responsibility level of a position" & "competitive with similar jobs within the company"? I was being paid 25 cents more per hour than new hires and $1.25/hr. less than my equal counter-part. It seems like an obvious "unfair pay" case to any prudent and logical person, including the assistant GM. Should I pursue this for compensation of back-pay?
$3000 in back pay. However, since I am a white male, is it just a case where I should have tried harder to be a better negotiator for a raise. Does this company have an obligation to keep all wages equal based on equal (and more) job responsibilities or is it their right to pay whatever they want to whoever they want? Does it make a difference if the company handbook has a compensation policy that states "wages are based on required responsibility level of a position" & "competitive with similar jobs within the company"? I was being paid 25 cents more per hour than new hires and $1.25/hr. less than my equal counter-part. It seems like an obvious "unfair pay" case to any prudent and logical person, including the assistant GM. Should I pursue this for compensation of back-pay?
