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Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification

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  • 07-16-2013, 12:06 AM
    TTTurbo
    Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    My question involves employment and labor law for the state of: TX

    All,

    I currently have a sunner internship at a large corporation and am paid approximately $25/hour. My offer letter explicitly states that I will earn $37.50 (1.5x) for each hour worked over 40 each week. Since the beginning of the internship, however (mid May), I have only been paid $12.50/hour for my overtime pay. I first assumed it was a mistake and I contacted HR to inform them of the issue. They finally got back to me today saying that the original rate in my offer letter was a mistake and they only ever intended to pay us the $12.50/hour OT rate. This is a sizeable difference as I average 80 hours / week. I also got the feeling that the company never intended to inform us of the change in pay rate until we asked about it.

    Considering I signed my offer letter back in March and the change in terms was never communicated to me, can the firm do this? Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying my summer and am glad to have this experience but the way the firm tried to Sweep this change under the rug rubs me the wrong way. Am I entitled to anything (especially becase I worked for 8 weeks under the impression I was being paid essentially twice as much as I actually was)?
  • 07-16-2013, 12:43 AM
    Disagreeable
    Re: Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    You should have verified your pay was incorrect at each pay period. If you felt there was an error, the time to dispute it was then. An employer is technically only required to pay you minimum wage and overtime. Depending on how the pay change was calculated you may have recourse.

    http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/overtimepay.htm
  • 07-16-2013, 04:14 AM
    free9man
    Re: Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    So on a week where you work, say 50 hours, you are being paid 40x$25 and then 10x$12.50? Or are they paying you 50x$25 and then 10x$12.50?

    Check you paystubs and let us know which one of those scenarios is occurring.
  • 07-16-2013, 05:59 AM
    eerelations
    Re: Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    OP appears to be getting half-time pay for OT hours worked. I've actually seen some companies make this mistake. I'm surprised though that a "large corporation" would make a mistake like this.
  • 07-16-2013, 06:20 AM
    free9man
    Re: Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    Yeah, I goofed. I somehow missed the part about OP speaking to the company about it and getting a response. I shall now go to the corner.
  • 07-16-2013, 06:46 AM
    TTTurbo
    Re: Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    Quote:

    Quoting eerelations
    View Post
    OP appears to be getting half-time pay for OT hours worked. I've actually seen some companies make this mistake. I'm surprised though that a "large corporation" would make a mistake like this.

    Just to clarify, the company is refusing to pay 1.5x OT (as was specified in my contract) and has been paying me 0.5x for hours worked over 50 (e.g. 40 x 25 + 40 x 12.50). It's not the pay difference that irritates me but the fact that the company seemed aware of this for quite some time (at least since the two months ago I started) but didn't feel the need to let us know they decided to pay us a different amount than we thought we were making. Like I said above, it felt like they were hoping none of us would notice the change in pay rate and they tried to sweep the issue under the rug when they finally got back to us.
  • 07-16-2013, 07:05 AM
    eerelations
    Re: Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    If you're exempt, the company doesn't have to pay you at all for any hours worked over 40 in any week. The company is not required to make you aware of this.

    If you're non-exempt, the company must pay you 1.5 times your regular pay for every hour worked over 40 in a week. This is the law.

    Are you exempt or non-exempt. If you don't know what these terms mean, please describe your job duties for us so that we can try to figure it out for you.
  • 07-16-2013, 07:13 AM
    cbg
    Re: Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    Just to be clear, if you work, say, 50 hours a week and are paid $25 x 50, plus 10 x $12.50, then you are being paid correctly. They are NOT obligated to pay $25 x 50, and then 10 x $37.50.

    Doesn't really matter if you figure it at $25 x 40 and 10 x $37.50, or $25 x 50 plus 10 x $12.50, either way it comes out the same.
  • 07-16-2013, 07:15 AM
    TTTurbo
    Re: Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    Quote:

    Quoting eerelations
    View Post
    If you're exempt, the company doesn't have to pay you at all for any hours worked over 40 in any week. The company is not required to make you aware of this.

    If you're non-exempt, the company must pay you 1.5 times your regular pay for every hour worked over 40 in a week. This is the law.

    Are you exempt or non-exempt. If you don't know what these terms mean, please describe your job duties for us so that we can try to figure it out for you.

    I am exempt, but does it make a different if my contract explicitly says I will be paid a certain OT rate?
  • 07-16-2013, 09:52 AM
    eerelations
    Re: Employer Changing Overtime Pay Rate Without Notification
    You have an actual contract? I thought you had an offer letter...
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