Isnt it legal for an employer to cut your wages without notice?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Isnt it legal for an employer to cut your wages without notice?
Prior to my wages being cut they cut my hours to 8
or 16 hours a week. So my management asked me
to move to a different department without saying my
wages would be cut. I then notice two weeks after
that my wages were cut by nearly five dollars an
hour and they did not notify me.
Asked on March 29, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Oregon
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
First of all, unless your hourly rate was guranteed under the terms of an employment contract or union agreement, your company had the right to reduce your wages at will. The fact is that an employer has the right to set the conditions of work much as it sees fit (absent some form of actionable discrimination). That having been said, wages cannot be reduced retroactively. That means that they cannot go down for work that has already been peformed; they can only be cut for work going forward and only after notifying an employee of the change. At this point, you could file a wage claim with your state's department of labor. Just be sure that it's worth it to you.
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
First of all, unless your hourly rate was guranteed under the terms of an employment contract or union agreement, your company had the right to reduce your wages at will. The fact is that an employer has the right to set the conditions of work much as it sees fit (absent some form of actionable discrimination). That having been said, wages cannot be reduced retroactively. That means that they cannot go down for work that has already been peformed; they can only be cut for work going forward and only after notifying an employee of the change. At this point, you could file a wage claim with your state's department of labor. Just be sure that it's worth it to you.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.