I am supposedly a Vice President of my company. My boss insists that I punch a time card, no big deal, I have impeccable attendance, although occassionally late for traffic and or human problems. I have considered myself a salaried employee, meaning my pay is constant, weather I work 50 hours a week, or 25 hours a week. I have worked for this company for 6 years. Recently over $50 was missing from my paycheck with no explanation. I was told there was a deduction for being late for 2 days. There was no explanation of the deduction. I advised my employer that unexplained deductions are completely illegal. He is adamant that the rules must be followed as to hours worked. I then demanded 48 hours overtime pay for the weekend trade show i attended. oh, well...rant rant rant. My question is this

How many executives here punch a time clock?
Should I call in the State Labor board for his violation? I warned him, and told him of his mis-judgement, but he is stubborn.

Can I sue for repercussions of being fired for labor board action?

 

Is there any written documentation stating your job responsibilities which would include hours worked etc? Also, does your company have an employee hand book?

 

You say, YOU consider yourself a salaried employee.....are you? What does your Job Description (if one has been provided) indicate.

Most companies will indicate if an employee is "exempt" or "non exempt" when describing a job position, work hours, o/t payment, etc.

The trade show...... were you DIRECTED to attend, was it suggested you attend, or was that decision yours?


But simply.......a title, is just words. The punching of the time clock probably will be the determining factor. It appears, you are "on the clock".


Just my opinion.

 

These are really tough situations to be in. Your company should have clearly defined regulations/rules relating to time and attendance. Also make sure that you are an exempt(salaried) employee as indicated by your offer letter or contract. If you are listed as non-exempt(hourly) than I would make sure that you do infact recieve the over-time pay from your trade show. Fair is fair, if they deduct for being late, then they better pay for staying over.

If you are fired for making a claim then you certainly can sue, but the burden of proof that they fired you for that reason is on you.
Don't forget, he can say he fired you for being late. Your tardyness is documented since you do punch the clock.

If I were in your shoes, I would really think about the decision you make. Is the $50 worth the loss of your job? Do you love your job? Is your boss rational enough to have a sit down and work through this issue?

I would contact your labor board and ask this question to them. You may get much better answers from them. And I guess that the first thing they are gonna ask you is what have YOU done to resolve this matter yourself.

I wish you the best of luck with this matter and hope it works out in your favor!

SPPD

 

My employment offer does not mention hours. It plainly states "You will be paid $xxxx per Month. Nothing about hours. In fact it is up to judgement as to what my hourly wage is, as some months are longer than others.
I was expected to attend the trade show, and it's fine if I don't get paid for it, as long as I am not nit-picked over being a few minutes late once in a while.

 

Time to start looking at other opportunities I think.

 

In Texas if you are a manger who is paid a salary, you do not qualify for overtime compensation. But if you are paid a salary and are not a manager you must be paid overtime for more than 40 hours worked.

Definition of a manager in Texas is "Do you hire and fire".

An hourly rate for a salaried employee is determined as follows:

Lets say you are paid $3000 per month.
You take $3000 X 12 (months) to get your annual pay of $36000 per year.
You then divide $36000 by 52 (weeks) which equals $692.31 per week.
You then divide $692.31 by 40 (hours) which equals $17.31 per hour.

So if you work 10 hours overtime you should be paid 10 X $25.96 (time & a half) for your overtime.

My wife used to be a tax accountant and would work 70 hour a week during tax season. 30 of those hours were paid as overtime using the above formula.

Now if you are defined as a manager by your state laws, then he does not have to pay you overtime, but he is a chicken poop for docking you pay, unless you really have had excessive tardies, in which case you need to make adjustments in your life.
When I have an employee who is constantly 10 minutes late to work I suggest he/she get up or leave his/her house 10 minutes earlier, or they will need to find another place to work.

 

Federal law states that non-exepmt employees must be either paid overtime or give additional days off, comp time, for ANY hours worked over 40 per week. The key is if you are considered a non-exepmt employee.

Read the info on this link. http://www.flsa.com/coverage.html

BTW, if they do classify you as non-exepmt, you are not only entitled pay for that week-end, but ALL overtime you have EVER worked for them. They can fight this, but if they lose, then they must pay you 1.5 times what is owed for overtime work. And they way the law is written, you can not even volunteer to work over time without being paid overtime rates.

Hope this helps, I've had to deal with this myself.

 

Something else to consider...are you an "at will" employee?

 

...and after this is all over with, get a detailed description of your job with Job title, duties, expempt/non-exempt status in writing signed by you and your superior. Copy it for your files and make sure there is one in your employee folder at work.

if your employer isn't willing to do this, it's a deal breaker in my book. I'd start looking for other employment.

Get it on company letterhead and start looking for a different company to work for. It sounds like a bridge is about to burn whether you come out a "winner" or a "loser" on this.