Can I Sue For Making Changes To My Paycheck

Can the Employer Legally Cut an Employee'due south Pay?

The Employer Has Legal Requirements Surrounding Employee Pay Practices

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Anybody expects regular pay raises merely never imagines that their pay might go downwards. Simply, pay reductions can happen. Sometimes it's legal for an employer to reduce an employee'south pay and sometimes it's not.

Pay Going Forward, Not Backward

This is the most important dominion in bacon reductions. The employer must pay you lot the agreed-upon salary for piece of work you've already done. Bosses can absolutely lower salaries but like they can raise salaries. Just, what they tin can't do is lower your salary without telling you in advance and y'all (the employee) must agree to it.

Does this mean that if your boss says, "I'grand cutting your pay" that y'all can say, "No thank you, I'll proceed at the higher rate of pay"? Not quite, only what y'all can do—is quit—before you do whatever piece of work at the offered lower charge per unit of pay. This is legal and may make the about sense for you if your employer tries to cutting your pay.

A dominate can't require you to piece of work at a rate of pay you didn't agree to, merely you too tin can't force him or her to pay you a rate they don't hold to pay. Once work is complete, an employer must pay you the last agreed-upon charge per unit.

What About Pay Reduction Notification?

Your boss has to tell you that they're cutting your pay before yous work a single hour at the new charge per unit. Some states merely require that your boss says, "Starting tomorrow, you will earn $8 an hour instead of $10 an hour." Other states require that your boss notify you in writing of the pay reduction.

What every state has in common is that your boss can't but cut your paycheck because they're angry yous resigned or they're curt on the payroll. It's not only unethical, simply it'due south also illegal.

When Is a Boss Allowed to Lower Pay?

Ideally, the reply to this question is never, but business realities sometimes demand that an employer is forced to lower pay to stay in concern. If the business is having cash flow problems, for case, sometimes the choice is either to close the company down or cutting employees' pay. Evidently, about people would prefer to get paid at a lower rate than to lose their jobs.

Still, it'south demoralizing and can be a financial blow for employees, so if a company needs to lower pay for financial reasons, it'south disquisitional that the boss gets the aforementioned percentage pay cut.

What About Task Changes?

The other time when information technology's appropriate to cut an employee'due south pay is when there is a substantial job modify. You ever retrieve about promotions as pay going up. Merely, sometimes, people are demoted. When a demotion occurs, and the previous bacon is considerably above what other people in the new position are making, a pay cut makes sense.

When the demotion is voluntary—for case, y'all accept a lower position because y'all want less stress or a completely different fix of tasks—then y'all'll have a pay cut hands. However, when it'southward involuntary and you're making less money doing a different job in another department, and so the pay cut becomes unpleasant.

When Is It Illegal for a Boss to Lower Pay?

The post-obit situations establish an illegal pay cut:

The Balance, 2018

• When there is no prior notification near the pay cut. Pay cuts can't be a retroactive surprise.
• When the pay cut is a response to some protected action. For instance, if yous complain that your boss is sexually harassing you, and and so your pay is cut, that is called retaliation and it is illegal.
• When the pay cut is discriminatory. If all men get a pay cutting, merely no women, that's illegal. If all Asians receive a pay cut, but no one else, that'south illegal. If anybody over twoscore years of age ​receives a pay cut, but no one younger, that's illegal.
• When the pay cut drops your salary beneath the minimum wage. The Federal minimum wage is set at a particular dollar amount, but a lot of states and cities have higher minimums. Dropping below that minimum wage is always illegal—even if y'all concur to it.
• When you have a contract that says otherwise. This is especially common in wedlock situations, which clearly spell out the pay rate for each chore. You lot cannot lower the pay of a person whose pay rate is set up past a contract without renegotiating the contract.
• When a pay cut for an exempt employee is temporary. It seems foreign to say that a temporary cut would be illegal while a permanent one wouldn't, simply one of the requirements for exempt employees is that their pay remains the same, regardless of the number of hours they piece of work. If you but cutting their pay for a calendar month or two, y'all could lose the bacon exemption—which means that the employee is eligible for overtime pay.

Steps if Your Pay Was Cut Illegally

If you find out nearly the pay cut afterwards you've already quit, yous can file a complaint with your Country Department of Labor. They'll heed to you and, hopefully, accept care of it for you.

If yous're still employed, it's best to attempt to work out the problem internally earlier getting the government involved. First, analyze with payroll whether it'south a mistake because mistakes exercise happen. if that's the case, payroll can hands rectify the error, although it might have a few days.

If payroll says that your payment is correct, go to your dominate and ask what is going on. Tell your boss that it's illegal to lower your payment without prior notification and that you'd detest for the visitor to get in problem. Your dominate may be unaware that your payment has seemingly been cutting, and that statement solitary should induce fear.

If that doesn't work, become to Human Resources and your boss's dominate. If that doesn't work, and y'all've explored all of your internal options, it's fourth dimension to call your State Department of Labor.

Please notation that the data provided, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality. The site is read by a world-broad audience and ​employment laws and regulations vary from state to land and country to country. Please seek legal assist, or assistance from Country, Federal, or International governmental resources, to brand certain your legal estimation and decisions are correct for your location. This information is for guidance, ideas, and assistance.

Suzanne Lucas is a freelance journalist specializing in Human Resources. Suzanne's work has been featured in notable publications including "Forbes," "CBS," "Business Withinr," and "Yahoo."

Source: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/can-the-employer-legally-cut-an-employee-s-pay-1919071

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