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sunnybunni · Sep 26, 2007, 06:10 PM

My office managers have been docking my pay, an hour or 2 per paycheck, it seems... for the past 2 years at least.

It started when my coworker started showing up late every day. They came to us both (they always do because they don't want to seem like they are "targeting" him, he's been a problem in the office for a long time) and said "if either of you are late, we are going to dock an hour from your paycheck for every time that you are late." I was against this.

I noticed one day shortly after that, that I had some money missing on my check. There was no note of any deduction. Rather, it stated that I had worked less hours than I had. I confronted the manager in the style that I thought there was a discrepency. She said that I was late 2 times, and 2 hours were not paid to me on my check. 2 hours that I had worked!

This has been happening for a long time now, and it is a long story, but I stopped arguing with the management about it because I was too stressed out to deal with it. The money that I was losing didn't seem worth the trouble. Until last month, when I saw 8 HOURS missing. I started complining about it again and I wrote a letter to the boss about the situation, especially after I found out that it isn't legal to not pay someone for hours that they worked.

He got upset with me stating that it isn't legal to do this. He said that it is not illegal to dock someone's pay. Pay for hours that they have worked. He offered that he can pay me back gradually, or I could quit and he would write me a check. That's when I told him that I had found a new job and was intending on putting in my 2 weeks. So I have 3 more work days until my notice has run it's course and I don't think he is planning on writing me a check.

I deserve to be paid for those hours that I've worked, I work SO hard at my job. What do I do? The management didn't record the deductions on my check stubs!

Fr_Chuck · Sep 26, 2007, 08:36 PM

Sue them in court

sunnybunni · Sep 26, 2007, 10:48 PM

But how do I prove that they were indeed docking my pay if there is no record of deductions on my check stubs? We punch in on a computer program. It would be just my luck that they could log in with an administrative password or something, and change the actual times, or hours, that I was punching in and out.

Fr_Chuck · Sep 26, 2007, 11:08 PM

You first should be keeping a personal record, And you get a court order for their records. You also ask for the policy in writing, and get other employee to testify to the activity

Greg Quinn · Sep 26, 2007, 11:15 PM

I agree! There is always a way. Even discussing it with him or her and having a tape recorder in your pocket. Get ruthless and call your labour standards board and get the ball rolling. Good luck

SpaceRatt · Sep 27, 2007, 06:42 PM

If you've been docked a couple hours a week for the last 2 years, adds up to about 200 hours of labor they have stolen from you. If you make ONLY $10 an hour, that's over $20,000 , plus interest, they have stolen from you. Someone needs to go to jail over this!

Find a good lawyer and sue the hell out of them.

GlindaofOz · Sep 27, 2007, 06:48 PM

I agree with everyone else on here. If he is smart he will settle it with you before being dragged through court.

A friend of mine sued her employers for making her work overtime without paying her overtime wages. She worked for 2 years and had worked an additional 1 or 2 everyday and she received $15,000 in back wages. The company settled with her after court.

sunnybunni · Sep 29, 2007, 09:00 PM

Thanks guys.

When I did talk with him about it he told me that it isn't illegal and that he had talked to his lawyer and that is what his lawyer told him. I think he was just trying to intimidate me.

What my main concern is this: The way that we punch in and out at the office is on a computer, using a program called Dentech. I am afraid that there is a way for an administrator to change the actual times that I punched in or out. If they can do that, there would be no point in me taking them to court, I barely have any money for a good lawyer.

I kept my own records, but only to confirm that they were, in fact, not paying me the correct amount of money. All I have is my paycheck stubs which state the incorrect amount of hours, and their records on the computer which would indicate the real hours that I worked. I just hope that they can't change that information in the system.

Bah. I'm so angry.

sunnybunni · Sep 30, 2007, 12:34 AM

Is it legal to discuss it with him while I have a tape recorder in my pocket?

excon · Oct 1, 2007, 11:43 AM

Hello sunny:

I wouldn't try to tape him. You don't need to anyway. You can subpoena ALL his records. You can get your co-worker to testify for you. I think you can easily PROVE your case.

I'd get heavy with him. Tell him that you believe he's committed a criminal act and that if he doesn't pay you NOW, you're going to call the cops.

excon

ScottGem · Oct 1, 2007, 11:51 AM

The first thing I would do is contact Dentech. Find out from them if there is a way of altering records that would be undetected. Also check for how long the program keeps records. Next, find out if the hours recorded by the program are sent directly to the program that does the payroll or whether the hours are entered manually.

Once you have that info, you can contact an attorney asking for a free consultation and see whether they think you can make a case. As Greg suggested, if they have been docking you for time where you were clocked in this could amount to significant money.

And it is definitely illegal to dock you for time where you were clocked in unless they can show you clocked in before you actually started working.

Emland · Oct 1, 2007, 11:53 AM

200 x $10 was $2000.00 the last time I checked, but it is still worth going after. Why did you put up with that BS for so long? If you are in the US, contact the wage and hour office and file a complaint. Just because a manager tells you something is legal, doesn't make it so.

I'm glad you found a different place to work.