unfair wage docking
May an employer dock a non-exempt employees wages for simple mistakes.
Employer wants to dock wages of $1 an hour for 8 hours for 1st offense . $1 an hour for 3 days for send , and $2 an hour for 1 week .
mistkes can be , mis-scanning an item , overage or shortages ( not money ), and damaged item ( not caused by person being docked )
This is in a wire manufacturing/distribution plant .
Thank you for taking the time to read this question .
Answers (2)
Docking Pay
Unfortunately, Mr. Hill is correct about companies that dock the pay of non-exempt employees. So long as the company doesn't take you all the way down to the bottom (below minimum wage), it is lawful -- UNLESS you are part of a union that has a collective bargaining agreement with the employer.
Many unions have successfully negotiated with companies such that "docking" is not very commonly allowed.
Without a union to stand up for the employees' rights and demand fair treatment, however, an individual employee is unlikely to be able to stop the company from doing this.
I would be curious to find out how much the CEO's salary is docked if profits are not what the shareholders want. What do you think?
posted by Margaret A. Harris | Mar 23, 2005 9:02 PM [EST]
Unfortunately, Mr. Hill is correct about companies that dock the pay of non-exempt employees. So long as the company doesn't take you all the way down to the bottom (below minimum wage), it is lawful -- UNLESS you are part of a union that has a collective bargaining agreement with the employer.
Many unions have successfully negotiated with companies such that "docking" is not very commonly allowed.
Without a union to stand up for the employees' rights and demand fair treatment, however, an individual employee is unlikely to be able to stop the company from doing this.
I would be curious to find out how much the CEO's salary is docked if profits are not what the shareholders want. What do you think?
posted by Margaret A. Harris | Mar 23, 2005 9:02 PM [EST]
Docking pay of non-exempt employees
An employer may dock an exempt employee's wages for mistakes as long as the employee's weekly wages are greater than what he would earn if paid the minimum wage for all hours worked during that week. Thus, if an employee was making $6 per hour and faced the $2 per hour week-long deduction you describe, this would be illegal.
Where docking pay is crucial is for exempt employees. If an employer docks the pay of an exempt employee, that employee is forever considered not to be paid on a "salary basis" (unless the employer goes back and corrects its mistake while jumping through a couple of hoops). This results in that employee becoming non-exempt. The employee, and possibly all other employees in similar positions, become entitled to overtime from that point forward, even if their duties would result in their being classified as exempt.
Unfortunately, there is no such penalty possible for employees already entitled to overtime, though.
posted by Matthew Hill | Mar 23, 2005 7:14 PM [EST]
An employer may dock an exempt employee's wages for mistakes as long as the employee's weekly wages are greater than what he would earn if paid the minimum wage for all hours worked during that week. Thus, if an employee was making $6 per hour and faced the $2 per hour week-long deduction you describe, this would be illegal.
Where docking pay is crucial is for exempt employees. If an employer docks the pay of an exempt employee, that employee is forever considered not to be paid on a "salary basis" (unless the employer goes back and corrects its mistake while jumping through a couple of hoops). This results in that employee becoming non-exempt. The employee, and possibly all other employees in similar positions, become entitled to overtime from that point forward, even if their duties would result in their being classified as exempt.
Unfortunately, there is no such penalty possible for employees already entitled to overtime, though.
posted by Matthew Hill | Mar 23, 2005 7:14 PM [EST]
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