I've been working for this company for about 5 years now. I was
hired
as a *salary* employee. Two weeks ago, they told us to start
clocking
in/out but never mention anything about switching us to hourly.
No
memo, no email, nothing was said or written. Today I got my
paycheck
I realized I've been switched to hourly...and only paid for 78
hours
instead of my usual 80 hours. Can my employer switch me to
hourly
without telling me?
Assuming that your employment is at-will, meaning that they could
fire you at any time without cause, then the employer has the
right to change you from salary to hourly or from hourly to salary
at any time. They could also decrease you salary or your hourly
rate. If you stay on, that's acceptance of the new deal. But
they can't decrease your pay in any way without telling you. They
can change the deal, but not violate the deal.
But your problem will be proving that they changed the rules
without notice. They might lie. They might say that they did
notify employees. They might show the memo you didn't receive, or
testify that someone told you in person. If the court or the
labor commissioner believes that you were not notified, then you
will be entitled to two hours pay, plus penalties. You don't get
more than that because when you got that paycheck, with only 78
hours, that was notice of the change. After that, if you stay on,
you are accepting the change.
McGyver
