CltAltAcctDel t1_j59o1hf wrote on January 21, 2023 at 11:52 AM

Reply to comment by AnotherUser297 in Can an employer change original hourly wage when adding mandatory overtime to avoid paying overtime? by hellorubydoo

> To avoid paying employees proper overtime, employers lowered the rate of pay for employees in weeks in which they worked more than 40 hours

That’s different than reducing their base pay across the board.

An employer can reduce your pay. What OP is describing sounds legal. Shitty, but legal

AnotherUser297 t1_j59t5kr wrote on January 21, 2023 at 12:51 PM

Correct, which is why I said it was similar. The employer is changing hours or pay to avoid paying overtime. Overtime is required for hourly workers, and messing with hours and changing pay is shitty at best and illegal at worst.

CltAltAcctDel t1_j59xpwh wrote on January 21, 2023 at 1:36 PM

But you answered the OP’s question with a definite nope and used that link to support your position.

Your link and OP’s situation are different. The company in the article was intentionally fluctuating wages based on employee hours to avoid paying OT. The base wage of the employees was entirely contingent on hours worked. More hour equaled lower hourly rate.

OP’s employer is permanently reducing wages. OP’s hourly rate will be the same regardless of hours work. An employer can legally reduce your wages; no law against that. The adding of mandatory OT puts it in a legal grey area. However, the employer is still calculating OT off of a static hourly wage so may be in compliance with the law.

AnotherUser297 t1_j5a25bp wrote on January 21, 2023 at 2:14 PM

OP’s employer is requesting a change in contract to avoid overtime. Employer said they can’t pay overtime, but really they don’t want to. Messing with overtime in any way is shady and worth pursuing legally. They want the OP to work more than 40 hours for the same money.