What can I do if an employment offer letter differs from what I was verbally told?
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What can I do if an employment offer letter differs from what I was verbally told?
I recently began a job that took almost 2 weeks for them to give me an offer letter of employment. I initially asked for $25 per hour and the manager said she would speak to the owner and get an offer letter to me. Since my interview day, I’ve worked 58 hours thinking that I was getting the amount I initially asked for. I then received an offer letter today, stating that they will offer $11 per hour. It was not official since they printed the wrong name and addressed it to another co-worker of mine. Is this
against the law? For them to allow me to work so many hours without telling me they are offering way below what I asked?
Asked on September 25, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
You may have a reasonable chance, were you to file a wage and hour complaint (with the state department of labor) or sue, to hold them to the $25/hour for the time you worked between discussing the wage and the offer letter; during that time, depending on exactly what was said (see below), it may have been reasonable for you to believe you were working for $25/hour, since they did nothing to refute that, and therefore they may be obligated to pay it. However, unless you have an actual written contract locking in your wage for a set or defined perior of time, it may be changed at will, so even if it had been $25/hour initially, they could--and did--make it $11/hour effective with the offer letter. So there is no doubt but they can now pay you only $11/hour. The only amount in question, which you might be able get would be the extra $14/hour for the first 58 hours.
Note though that it must have been reasonable for you to think that $25/hour was the wage; so if, even though the manger was checking on the wage you want, if you'd initially been told the wage would be something lower, then you asked for more money, it might be that ta court would consider it unreasonable on your part to think that your request obligated them to pay the higher wage given that you were told it was a lower-wage job; and if unreasonable, you could not rely on it. The way the conversation(s) went and were left prior to the offer letter, it must have been reasonable to think that the $25 wage would be granted.
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