What are an employee’s rights to a raise?
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What are an employee’s rights to a raise?
I work for a hospital in an entry level per-diem position and have been here for over 6 years. One in the past they raised the hourly rate for new employees hired to the same position (it is a standard rate for the position, not affected by education or experience). After I complained, my salary was brought up to the same level. Now I find out that the salary was raised for everyone hired in the past 2 years. At this point, I want to know if this practice is against the law and if it is, what are my legal rights in retroactively requesting the money that I was shorted on.
Asked on December 13, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You most likely do not have any right to a raise or compensation. The law does NOT require that employers give experienced employees regular raises, or pay them more than more recent hires. An employer may freely decide how much to pay each employee, unless:
1) There is an employment contract guarantying you raises in some way; or
2) The fact that other people, but not you, received raises is due to discrimination against you on the basis of a specifically protected category, such as race, sex, religion, age over 40, or disability.
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