Lowered my pay, didn't tell me? Don't know what to do?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello everyone. I am in a situation that I am unsure what to do if anything at all. Here goes it... I am a CNA and have worked at an assited living facility since April. When I was hired I was told I would be paid the base pay plus 50 cents extra per hour weekday since I am per diem and $1 extra on weekends. So if I worked a weeknight I was being paid 50 cents more because I was per diem and if I worked a Sat or Sun I was paid $1.50 more..50 cents for the per diem, $1 for weekend shift pay. All of our pay is direct deposit and the weekly pay stubs are in a brown folder that you can pick up and take. I would take them every few weeks and look them over then discard, and I was being paid the above correctly. Well a week ago, I picked up a couple pay stubs and looked them over and I was being paid just the base pay for all shifts I worked. A new lady took over the business side in Sept so I just assumed it was a mistake. So I copied all my pay stubs with the base pay and gave them to her and asked for my back pay. Well she told me that per diem workers are not entitiled to shift differential for weekends and also do not get extra pay for being per diem. She said only part or full time employees get that. She said she doesn't know why I was being paid that but I can no longer anymore. I was hired a specific amount and paid that amount since April and now they say no and my pay is less. Also, I had earned one bank hour and they took that saying again per diem do not ge that....

So I don't know what to do? Can they do this? Pay me less?

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Technically shift differentials are not part of pay. They are part of benefits.

You were hired at X dollars plus the benefit of shift differentials.

They can take the benefits any time they like as long as it is across the board.

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Technically shift differentials are not part of pay. They are part of benefits.

You were hired at X dollars plus the benefit of shift differentials.

They can take the benefits any time they like as long as it is across the board.

Thank you for your response. I wanted to ask here because I didn't want to get all upset if there was nothing I can do about it.

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Thank you for your response. I wanted to ask here because I didn't want to get all upset if there was nothing I can do about it.

Oh, I would get upset. I would also insist on continuing to get the differentials as they let you get them for so long.

I am no lawyer. I would check if paying you for so long (I just noticed that you said since April) qualifies as an implied contract.

Not sure where you could check this out other than an attorney. Of course, attorneys cost money so, I am not sure if it is worth it.

I will say that the fact that they didn't bother to tell you shows what kind of business they are. I'd dump faster than a bad habit.

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Oh, I would get upset. I would also insist on continuing to get the differentials as they let you get them for so long.

I am no lawyer. I would check if paying you for so long (I just noticed that you said since December) qualifies as an implied contract.

Not sure where you could check this out other than an attorney. Of course, attorneys cost money so, I am not sure if it is worth it.

I will say that the fact that they didn't bother to tell you shows what kind of business they are. I'd dump faster than a bad habit.

Again thanks. I am upset, it is such back breaking work for little pay that every dollar helps. I just didn't know if there was anything legal I could do about it. I am going to search more in the internet. We are moving to San Diego in March so I was going to quit in Feb, and I need this reference for nursing schools so I really don't want to ruffle any feathers there but it's just not right. We work so hard there.

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Specializes in ED, Flight.

I would be plenty upset. It MAY be legal (I'm no lawyer, and have no opinio), but it is poor morals IMO to take a pay rate that someone already relies on and change it.

A few years back I worked in a small urgent care. The doc who owned the place decided after about a year to decrease the pay of some of the staff. I fought her on it, though I lost. But it is clear to me that once the employer has established an expectation in an employee's mind, there is a moral failure in changing that without serious warrant and warning.

Just my :twocents:.

The practical question, of course, is what choices do you have?

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My reaction would be to take my next paycheck and hand her a resignation letter, explaining that you cannot work for less than you were hired at, and then start looking for jobs.

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Specializes in ED, Flight.
My reaction would be to take my next paycheck and hand her a resignation letter, explaining that you cannot work for less than you were hired at, and then start looking for jobs.

+1

Like I said, what are your options?

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Specializes in Peds Cardiology,Peds Neuro,Pedi ER,PICU, IV Jedi.

Lack of morality is rampant in the business world, and if I were in a position like yours I'd leave the bad company behind if I didn't get what I was told I would get. I'd go to her again ( or whomever the boss is) tell them your plight, and see if an agreeable solution could be reached. If it can't, then I'd pack my bags. No sense in working for a company that plays those games.

Many years ago something similar happened to me - they wanted to change our night differentials to a figure that is much less than they were, we're talking like one third to one fifth...so we fought them on it, and our managers were with us. We won, by the way, because they realized that it was wrong to change the expectation that we'd work nights and weekends for less money.

JMHO...

Hope everything works out for you.

vamedic4

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Specializes in LTC.

Can you ask the other per diem employees if the same happened to them, and fight it together?

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Contact your state's Labor and Wage Board. They should be able to give you a pretty quick answer.

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Contact your state's Labor and Wage Board. They should be able to give you a pretty quick answer.

1. Do that.

2. Do you have a letter from when you were hired that states what your wages would be? If you had it and threw it out or misplaced it, get a copy from HR. It will be in their file, I'm sure.

3. Discuss this problem with whoever hired you.

4. If no satisfaction there, go to the owner of the place. This is really crap to lower someone's wages without notification. Plus, she is new in her job and probably doesn't know her head from a horse's hind end. :jester: I would not let her bully me.

5. I guess you have to decide how important it is to you to be treated with respect. Even if you need the reference, even if you were quitting in a couple of months anyway, you should stand up to this woman, I think. She will not be the one giving you a reference, will she?

6. Just keep your anger in check. Be civil. You might need to communicate in writing with everyone, to keep a paper trail. You might consider sending certified letters so you will get a receipt/proof of delivery date and to whom. The money could add up.

7. Never fully trust Payroll or HR. They are only human and they do err. Plus, they are there to protect not the worker but the employer. I guess mostly they try to be fair but they are, as stated, only human.

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