Question of legallity of bosses actions?

[Bigwigbob]

I work at a small cafe in an even smaller town. Thursday nigt the boss asked me to wrap potatoes in aluminum foil to bake the next day. I got to doing other things and completly spaced out the potatoes. The next day when I came in the boss had docked me an hour for "not getting all my work done". Can she legally do this and if she cannot does anyone know where I should turn her in to?

[Bowser]

You don't live in King City, do you?


And as for the other, I'm not sure, but just stay on the clock an hour later sometime during the week.

[Skip Towne]

Do you have a contract? Are you a union member? If the answer to these questions are no then she can do pretty much what she wants. You are what is called an "at will" employee. In other words you are a POS with no rights.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

Do you have a contract? Are you a union member? If the answer to these questions are no then she can do pretty much what she wants. You are what is called an "at will" employee. In other words you are a POS with no rights.

I thought "at will" had to do with firing/quitting. An employer can terminate your employment without reason as long as they don't say something like it's because you're female, black, too old, or one of the other protected classes. On the other side of the coin, you have the right to quit for no reason without notice.

I wouldn't think it would be right to dock his pay for not doing the chore, though. Maybe right him up for lack of attention to job responsibilities or something. Does she own the cafe? Do you have the paperwork proving the hours you worked and the check stub showing the lack of pay for the hours you worked? Can you go above her head? If not, even though I don't think it's right, I think you're just screwed.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

Do you have a contract? Are you a union member? If the answer to these questions are no then she can do pretty much what she wants. You are what is called an "at will" employee. In other words you are a POS with no rights.

Bullshit. If you're an hourly employee you can't be docked pay for a disciplinary reason last time I checked.

[ChiefsFanatic]

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

Do you have a contract? Are you a union member? If the answer to these questions are no then she can do pretty much what she wants. You are what is called an "at will" employee. In other words you are a POS with no rights.

As Wal-Mart and Best Buy will attest, you must be paid for every minute, much less every hour, worked on the clock.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by ChiefsFanatic

As Wal-Mart and Best Buy will attest, you must be paid for every minute, much less every hour, worked on the clock.

I've worked at a Wal-Mart warehouse in northern California for a long time now. I have had a boss try to get me to work off the clock once. They used to have a built in "window" on the clock because they paid in quarter-hour increments. If you got off the clock within seven minutes after you were supposed to, your time would be adjusted back to the nearest quarter hour. It was done that way because unauthorized overtime resulted in a disciplinary action and people would get sloppy and clock off a few minutes late. That way you could get away with it and not get in trouble. She suggested one shift that the group I was part of use that window every day to do our day end paperwork. I just got really still and asked her in a sarcastic tone,"You're not suggesting that I work off the clock every day are you? I'm sure you wouldn't want to suggest something like that to me." She hemmed and hawed and backed off fairly quickly.

[ChiefsFanatic]

Originally Posted by listopencil

I've worked at a Wal-Mart warehouse in northern California for a long time now. I have had a boss try to get me to work off the clock once. They used to have a built in "window" on the clock because they paid in quarter-hour increments. If you got off the clock within seven minutes after you were supposed to, your time would be adjusted back to the nearest quarter hour. It was done that way because unauthorized overtime resulted in a disciplinary action and people would get sloppy and clock off a few minutes late. That way you could get away with it and not get in trouble. She suggested one shift that the group I was part of use that window every day to do our day end paperwork. I just got really still and asked her in a sarcastic tone,"You're not suggesting that I work off the clock every day are you? I'm sure you wouldn't want to suggest something like that to me." She hemmed and hawed and backed off fairly quickly.

I was a dept. supervisor at Best Buy. At night we had to clock out on time to avoid overtime. But, we were still required to attend the closing meeting.

To make a long story short, Best Buy eventually had to make a blanket payment to any employee that worked for Best Buy during like 1995-2000 [not completely sure]

One day I got a check in the mail for all the unpaid labor that everyone had done.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by ChiefsFanatic

I was a dept. supervisor at Best Buy. At night we had to clock out on time to avoid overtime. But, we were still required to attend the closing meeting.

To make a long story short, Best Buy eventually had to make a blanket payment to any employee that worked for Best Buy during like 1995-2000 [not completely sure]

One day I got a check in the mail for all the unpaid labor that everyone had done.

We have opening meetings and general meetings that occur mid-shift. If we had them at the end we just wouldn't go. But yeah, this is the same reason Wal-Mart has all of these same types of lawsuits going against them right now. Not to say that this is the only reason for the suits, this is just the explanation for some of them.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by listopencil

I've worked at a Wal-Mart warehouse in northern California for a long time now. I have had a boss try to get me to work off the clock once. They used to have a built in "window" on the clock because they paid in quarter-hour increments. If you got off the clock within seven minutes after you were supposed to, your time would be adjusted back to the nearest quarter hour. It was done that way because unauthorized overtime resulted in a disciplinary action and people would get sloppy and clock off a few minutes late. That way you could get away with it and not get in trouble. She suggested one shift that the group I was part of use that window every day to do our day end paperwork. I just got really still and asked her in a sarcastic tone,"You're not suggesting that I work off the clock every day are you? I'm sure you wouldn't want to suggest something like that to me." She hemmed and hawed and backed off fairly quickly.

Donkey fan and WalMart employee!!

I believe you achieved the penultimate level of suckage!

[Logical]

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

Do you have a contract? Are you a union member? If the answer to these questions are no then she can do pretty much what she wants. You are what is called an "at will" employee. In other words you are a POS with no rights.

Actually that is not true, you cannot take away hours as punishment. However, she could theoretically fire this person since he is an at will worker. She would still have to pay him for all hours worked legally. State labor relations board would take care of such a thing.

[Dunit35]

That's not cool. But check this out. My brother is getting ready to get out of a job that didn't pay overtime and had no benefits. Lets say he worked 50 hours one week. He would only get paid for 40 and they would take the extra 10 hours and store them away for a sick day or maybe a day he left early. That's so illegal. Anything past 40 is overtime of course but the boss is trying to cheat the system by doing this.

[Bigwigbob]

She ownes the place. I told her it was illegal to do that and she gave me the hour back. I had no idea if it was or not. She has done it to others who have worked there and the bitch is like a 3 year old on a power trip

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by Bigwigbob

She ownes the place. I told her it was illegal to do that and she gave me the hour back. I had no idea if it was or not. She has done it to others who have worked there and the bitch is like a 3 year old on a power trip

Yes it is illegal. There is a government agency that monitors this stuff (labor board). Rep to you to standing up to her.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Bigwigbob

She ownes the place. I told her it was illegal to do that and she gave me the hour back. I had no idea if it was or not. She has done it to others who have worked there and the bitch is like a 3 year old on a power trip

Heh...I didn't see this post before I started replying. I've got the blood of several generations of working class people flowing through my veins and I'd sure as hell tell a boss like that to stick it where the sun don't shine. Glad to see the bitch backed off. She knew it was against the law.