Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida

Pay rate change after hours are worked

When I started my job I was on hourly pay. I almost always work overtime. The owner told me he was putting me on salary because he doesn't want to pay me overtime. He has since changed my pay from salary to hourly to salary several times without notice prior to me working the hours. He waits until he sees how many hours I have worked and bases how I get paid that. I get paid on a bi-weekly basis. If I work more that 80 hours, he informs me when he turns in the payroll that he will be paying me salary. If I work 40 or less, he turns in my payroll at an hourly rate. He has done this numerous times. Is it illegal? He changes my pay after I have already worked the hours. I am not, nor have I ever been, on any kind of probation within the company. These changes in pay are not a demotion in any way. It's just the owner saving himself the money. I feel this is unfair. I know that workers in Florida basically have no rights, but I think this might be a case where one does. Please e-mail me and let me know one way or the other if this illegal or just immoral. Thank you for your time.


Asked on 8/19/03, 12:15 pm

4 Answers from Attorneys

Bonita Riggens Law Office of Bonita M. Riggens

Re: Pay rate change after hours are worked

Whether you are entitled to overtime depends on the type of work you do, thus, if you previously were being paid overtime then you most likely are entitled to overtime unless your job has changed. From what you presented, it appears he may be illegally attempting to not pay your overtime. You should immediately contact an attorney or the Departement of Labor. You can find out more about overtime at the Dept. of Labor website at www.dol.gov

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Answered on 8/19/03, 12:29 pm

Re: Pay rate change after hours are worked

If you are on salary you should be paid a full day for each day you work, even if you work less than 8 hours that day. There are some execeptions where you substitute paid time off, such as sick leave, for the time missed to equal a full days pay. If you are an hourly worker you must be paid overtime. You need to see an attorney on this one.

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Answered on 8/19/03, 12:56 pm
Keith Stern Shavitz Law Group

Re: Pay rate change after hours are worked

Your ER's current practice is likely in violation of state and/or federal law governing the payment of overtime wages. Accordingly, please feel free to contact me to learn more about your potential claims, (305) 755-9441.

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Answered on 8/20/03, 5:12 pm
Steven Fahlgren Steven M. Fahlgren, P.A.

Re: Pay rate change after hours are worked

Thank you for contacting our firm regarding our qualifications and your potential matter. As you probably have learned from our website, our firm is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has experience in many types of legal matters. Based on the information we have received, our firm may be able to represent you with respect to the above-mentioned matter. The employer generally cannot have its cake and eat it too. You are supposed to be a salaried, exempt employee (assuming certain tests are met) or you are not. You generally cannot be both.

We recommend you immediately seek counsel and act quickly to avoid the statute of limitations or other deadlines which apply to your claims. The statute of limitations is of critical significance, in that, should you fail to have instituted a law suit or taken some other statutorily approved action to toll the statute of limitations, then your claim would be forever barred. We sincerely wish you the best in the future. Please keep our firm in mind if you or any of your family and friends have any legal needs in the areas of civil or criminal law.

Sincerely,

Steven M. Fahlgren

Law Offices OF Steven m. Fahlgren

4751 South Conway Road

Orlando, Florida 32812

(407) 852-1711 (TELEPHONE)

(407) 852-9088 (Facsimile)

[email protected]

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Answered on 8/20/03, 10:51 am


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