Witholding Paycheck As Part of Salary Reduction

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

hornsby

New Member
Hello,

Company wide salaried and hourly employees received a % pay cut due to the economy (I am salaried). In addition when things did not improve we were notified that one of our paychecks was going to also be withheld (due to the economy).

Is this practice legal?

In addition is it legal to expect a salaried employee to work weekends on assignments without any sort of compensation (paid time off etc)?

Thanks!
 
"Hourly" and "salaried" are merely pay methods. For purposes of your questions, I will assume that by "salaried" you mean exempt.

First question. Absolutely not. Nonexempt employees MUST be paid at least minimum wage for all hours worked and exempt employees MUST be paid at least $640/week.

Second question. Yes, it is. Exempt employees are paid their salary to get a job done no matter how many hours it takes.
 
Well then the answer to my first question is "yes" (not no) it is legal, since my bi-weekly salary is equal to/greater than twice minimum wage (I am a skilled worker).

It is incredibly sick that employers can do this - no matter how much or how little you are paid.

Quality of life with work has completely been ignored in this country which now has lead to our children becoming more detached from families, thus more crime, lower educated, etc. Sure wish I were European.

Thank you for your response...it was real...just not what I wanted to hear.

Patricia Young said:
"Hourly" and "salaried" are merely pay methods. For purposes of your questions, I will assume that by "salaried" you mean exempt.

First question. Absolutely not. Nonexempt employees MUST be paid at least minimum wage for all hours worked and exempt employees MUST be paid at least $640/week.

Second question. Yes, it is. Exempt employees are paid their salary to get a job done no matter how many hours it takes.
Click to expand...
 
No, that isn't what I said. You CANNOT go without pay for a full workweek. That is NOT legal. The AMOUNT that the law requires you be paid is dependent upon whether you are exempt or nonexempt.

I'm assuming by "skilled worker" you mean manual labor (simplistically speaking, not meaning it derogatorily). That means you MUST make at least $8.00/hr, plus overtime pay if applicable and you MUST be informed of any pay decrease BEFORE you work the hours at the decreased rate.
 
I just checked and they classify my skilled technology position as exempt. That is a mistake I will never enter into again.

Exempt appears to mean that the employer can run your life oops I meant to say ruin your life.
 
Last edited:
It is your job duties that determine if you are exempt or non-exempt. Not your job title, not even (entirely) your level of education or skill.

You can always contact the DOL for an opinion on whether you qualify to be exempt. The employer does not get to unilaterially classify you as exempt unless you so qualify under Federal (and/or state) regulations.
 
We were given a 2 week notice before reduction (I believe) and then a 1 month notice before they did not pay us one paycheck. The reasoning was based on their payroll schedule there were 3 paychecks that month and that was a stress to the company so they cut the amount of our 3 paychecks to the equivalent of the amount we would have received in 2.

A lot of jockeying around if you ask me.

Thanks for the advice/assistance!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Share this page

Get a free case review from a lawyer
Back
Top