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Labor law violation?

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Started 3 years ago by Matthew
Latest reply from pez

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Matthew
Hilltop
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I've got a friend who left employment recently without a 2 week notice. The franchisee (popular fast-food chain) was jerking the managers around by taking away their vacations and making them work six day work weeks. They also had no health ins. All fine and legal, I'm sure.

My friend worked for 3 weeks before he got his first paycheck. He quit without notice and was informed that he has to forfeit his 2 week held-back pay (as a retaliation) for quitting without notice. Surely to God this isn't legal, is it?

So he loses 2 weeks of pay for time worked because he could not give notice, according to this employer.

Has anyone here dealt with this?

Posted 3 years ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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Matthew wrote >>
I've got a friend who left employment recently without a 2 week notice. The franchisee (popular fast-food chain) was jerking the managers around by taking away their vacations and making them work six day work weeks. They also had no health ins. All fine and legal, I'm sure.
My friend worked for 3 weeks before he got his first paycheck. He quit without notice and was informed that he has to forfeit his 2 week held-back pay (as a retaliation) for quitting without notice. Surely to God this isn't legal, is it?
So he loses 2 weeks of pay for time worked because he could not give notice, according to this employer.
Has anyone here dealt with this?

I don't know about the legal side, but typically a company has a written set of rules and regulations-including leaving employment-that the employee signs off on the first day of employment.

If, per company policy, he was supposed to give two weeks and failed to do so, it may make any challenge difficult. All dependent on state and federal labor laws of course.

I always try to give more than 2 weeks as courtesy, especially if I like the boss/employer.

Posted 3 years ago #
AmyD
Columbus, Ohio
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i agree, if i like the employer. but why is that? how did that come to be? i don't know of any employers that give 2 weeks notice when they are firing you. sorry to veer off topic...

Posted 3 years ago #
Matthew
Hilltop
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AmyD wrote >>
i agree, if i like the employer. but why is that? how did that come to be? i don't know of any employers that give 2 weeks notice when they are firing you. sorry to veer off topic...

I don't think you are off topic at all. And to answer L2w's comment on the giving 2 weeks. My friend had a new offer that started the day he quit, thus giving him the choice between two weeks with or without health ins. He took the higher road. IMO the former employer is the cheapest kind of bastard alive, making the employees work 6 day work weeks, no vacations, no pto, and no health ins.

The main point of the post though is to find out if it is legal or not to withold pay for hours worked.

Posted 3 years ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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It kind of makes sense.

Quitting/resigning on your terms is known only to you until you tell your direct supervisor. Having 2 weeks notice (I would assume most give more) allows the company to plan for your departure, make sure all the final paperwork is done and begin preparing to fill your position or reassign duties.

When they fire you, it's on their terms and probably a decision that has been weighed carefully with a way to reassign or replace your duties.

Posted 3 years ago #
brothermarcus
West Siiiide
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Have your friend contact the hour and wage board, it is illegal to have an individual work for you and not pay them. I used to have to deal with some pretty shady employers when I was in employment services.

OHIO DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BUREAU OF WAGE & HOUR
Bob Kennedy, Superintendent

77 South High Street, 22nd Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
614-644-2239
Fax: 614-728-8639
http://www.com.state.oh.us

Posted 3 years ago #
frozen twinkies

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brothermarcus wrote >>
Have your friend contact the hour and wage board, it is illegal to have an individual work for you and not pay them. I used to have to deal with some pretty shady employers when I was in employment services.
OHIO DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BUREAU OF WAGE & HOUR
Bob Kennedy, Superintendent
77 South High Street, 22nd Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
614-644-2239
Fax: 614-728-8639
http://www.com.state.oh.us

+1

You work for someone, you get paid.
They can not retaliate and keep your pay. Those kind of antics can get the business in trouble fast.
Unless he signed something on the way out, they owe him his pay.
It's the law

Posted 3 years ago #
nexttuesday

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I second what marcus said, and no, it is not legal. It is possible that they threatened to not pay him but the company has actually issued a paycheck in his name (I had a former employer do this to me, they wanted their training manual back before they gave me my last paycheck and I never brought it back). If a check is issued in your name, they have to keep it and after a certain amount of time turn it over to the state. Having the dept. of commerce call them will probably convince them to turn the check over.

Posted 3 years ago #
pez

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While it certainly isn't legal for them not to pay him for time he worked, but I don't think he is understanding correctly and thinks he had pay held back (I've never heard of an hourly position holding back pay, except for union initiation fees), although I'm not saying they didn't do it. I used to deal with this all the time, because of the way we used to set hire dates at a former job.

Example:
Company A has a 2 week pay period. Employees are paid the Friday following the end of the pay period.
- Jim Starts on the 1st (Monday) at the beginning of a 2 week pay period.
- On the 5th (Friday) all of Jim's coworkers get a check but Jim does not (for a pay period before Jim started).
- Jim's first check comes on the 21st (to cover the 1st-14th), but Jim feels (probably because someone incorrectly explained the payment of wages in arrears as a holdback) that 2 weeks pay were held back.

So what your friend should expect would be an additional check for the time he worked in the final pay period that will show up two weeks after his most recent check. If he doesn't get that, I would then start asking questions and making phone calls.

Posted 3 years ago #