O
oleander8
Guest
What is the name of your state? Arizona
I am 55, work as an Executive Assistant to the Pres, SVP and COO of a privately-held company, and have been doing this type of work for 30 years. When hired 3 yrs ago, my starting salary was $43K. I have always received good reviews, consistent raises, and have earned $47.4K for the past year; next review due Oct 2004. At the verbal expressed expectation of employer 3 years ago that I work a 9-hour day, I have always done so, and then some. In order to comply with the 8/23/04 DOL FLSA revised guidelines, I am being switched from salary to hourly, which I understand. However, employer does not want to divide $47.4 by 2080 hrs (=$22.79/hr). Instead employer wants to pay $19.20/hr for the first 40 hours/week, and time-and-a-half for 5 hrs/week at $28.80/hr to get to $47,400. I have stood steadfast against this proposal as it effectively reduces my base wage to $39,937 and forces me to gamble 16% of my income with the hope that I would be able to have 5 hours of overtime each week in order to maintain my current rate of compensation. Things get even more complicated if there is a holiday, sick time or vacation day taken as overtime is not paid when any of the hours in a week are not worked hours; therefore Labor Day (Monday) off meant I had to work nearly 40 hours on Tues-Fri to earn my expected income. To date, employer has still not confirmed the financial terms of my employment, has told me I'm hourly, then told me I'm still salaried, has changed my payroll posting to hourly, then switched it back to salary, and 5 weeks have passed. Further, 2 other administrative employees with clerical duties have not been presented these terms and instead have experienced no decrease in pay; one has been told "no overtime", and the other has actually been requested to work overtime. This completely compromises my standard of living, jeopardizes my financial strength as only the base is the income that would be considered, and undermines my confidence and good will toward my employer. I believe they are trying to subvert the intent of the FLSA, and I have documentation of their intent stating that dividing my current salary by 2080 would be giving me a big raise. I have asked why they are making this so complicated and won't just divide by 2080, and I get no answer. Cheap, cheap is why... Is what they are doing illegal? Besides tryng to negotiate with them, look for another job & quitting, or going to an attorney or DOL, what would be your best advice?
I am 55, work as an Executive Assistant to the Pres, SVP and COO of a privately-held company, and have been doing this type of work for 30 years. When hired 3 yrs ago, my starting salary was $43K. I have always received good reviews, consistent raises, and have earned $47.4K for the past year; next review due Oct 2004. At the verbal expressed expectation of employer 3 years ago that I work a 9-hour day, I have always done so, and then some. In order to comply with the 8/23/04 DOL FLSA revised guidelines, I am being switched from salary to hourly, which I understand. However, employer does not want to divide $47.4 by 2080 hrs (=$22.79/hr). Instead employer wants to pay $19.20/hr for the first 40 hours/week, and time-and-a-half for 5 hrs/week at $28.80/hr to get to $47,400. I have stood steadfast against this proposal as it effectively reduces my base wage to $39,937 and forces me to gamble 16% of my income with the hope that I would be able to have 5 hours of overtime each week in order to maintain my current rate of compensation. Things get even more complicated if there is a holiday, sick time or vacation day taken as overtime is not paid when any of the hours in a week are not worked hours; therefore Labor Day (Monday) off meant I had to work nearly 40 hours on Tues-Fri to earn my expected income. To date, employer has still not confirmed the financial terms of my employment, has told me I'm hourly, then told me I'm still salaried, has changed my payroll posting to hourly, then switched it back to salary, and 5 weeks have passed. Further, 2 other administrative employees with clerical duties have not been presented these terms and instead have experienced no decrease in pay; one has been told "no overtime", and the other has actually been requested to work overtime. This completely compromises my standard of living, jeopardizes my financial strength as only the base is the income that would be considered, and undermines my confidence and good will toward my employer. I believe they are trying to subvert the intent of the FLSA, and I have documentation of their intent stating that dividing my current salary by 2080 would be giving me a big raise. I have asked why they are making this so complicated and won't just divide by 2080, and I get no answer. Cheap, cheap is why... Is what they are doing illegal? Besides tryng to negotiate with them, look for another job & quitting, or going to an attorney or DOL, what would be your best advice?