Can my employer cut my wages even though my job duties have remained the same?

michr

wages, hours and responsibilities can be changed with or without your approval but..............
a decrease in hourly wage requires notification before the new wage goes into effect. your hourly wage can not be changed retroactively. some (a very few) states actually require a week or more of notice concerning a pay rate change.

there is also the question of, was your pay cut or does this business pay a shift differential that you are no longer receiving due to the shift change?
shift differential is not part of your hourly wage and is paid in addition to the wage for working a designated shift.

IF there was a violation you do not need an attorney
and
this has nothing to do with "at-will" employment

if there was a violation you can file a wage complaint with the state and recover the difference in pay, for the hours worked that were in violation of the notice period.

if you edit the question to include what state you work in a definitive answer can be provided concerning how much notice is required and how to file a complaint if there was a violation.

Squat1

Yes, as long as you are paid the minimum wage. Employment at will

Funkstar

I think she is supposed to notify you, but I'm not 100% sure on this.
It sounds like she is trying to get rid of you.

jobbend

To answer this effectively, someone needs to know where you work (state or country), if you are a union, contract, or work-at-will employee, and if your company has any policies regarding this.

If you are in the US, and are in a "work-at-will" job, then it is likely that this is legal. "Work-at-will" literally means you can quit, or be fired, for any reason or no reason at all.

The closest thing I can find that addresses this is taken right from the US Department of Labor site:

The FLSA does not provide wage payment or collection procedures for an employee's usual or promised wages or commissions in excess of those required by the FLSA. However, some states do have laws under which such claims (sometimes including fringe benefits) may be filed.

The link is included below.

raugust_18431

Yes, friend, your employer can do this. Your employer can cite cost restructuring or "rank and yank" or downsizing or labor costs or whatever other convoluted bean-counting scheme your employer can conceive.

The matter is that even though to the employer you are "family," and even though you eat, sleep, breathe, and bleed your employer, to your employer, you are nothing more than a means to obtain his or her income through somebody else's work, and if you cannot "cut the mustard," you get cut out. Your employer tells you to your face that you are family and he or she is glad to have you, and then hugs you to find a good soft spot in which to stab the butcher knife.

If you do not believe me, watch the documentary film "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" from Brave New Films. It is available at http://www.walmartmovie.com. Observe how Wal-Mart uses scare tactics, union busting, and outright termination of promotable employees in order that their CEOs can save a buck or two, or millions of bucks in their case.

Dear friend, in order to fight your employer and get the wages you deserve for the work you do, you had better hire an attorney who is extremely well-versed in civil litigation regarding wages and benefits. The trouble is that if you win that case, you are still back at "square 1" because of the attorney's fee$. You might have won the skirmish, but your attorney$ and employer$ have still won the war.

maximus00

can the employer cut wages for going to the toilet ? it takes on average 8-12 min to get to the toilet and back in my workplace which means clocking out on the factory floor , but they say washing and sanitising your hands should take about 3 mins each time and u have to do this twice ? but is it not within human rights that at any time you need the toilet you may go aswel as your not abusing the system? when supervisors or management do not have to as they are salary based.

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