Is this legal? Furious right now!!!

[flashpoint]

The hospital I work at recently gave everyone in the hospital a raise. When I opened my pay slip today, I was surprised to see that I was getting a raise from $13.36 to 13.65. I've been making $13.76 for over a year! I called the error to the attention of the payroll department and was told that I should have only been making the $13.36. They also told me that I will have to pay back the extra 40¢ an hour they've been giving me. I have a copy of my last raise slip that says I was to get a raise from $11.76 to $13.76...$2.00 was the average amount of the last raise they gave...

So now, instead of a raise, I am technically taking a CUT in pay and they are going to take $16 a week out of my checks for the next 18 months!

I am mad enough to quit right now...sigh...

Can they do that? I have proof that I was supposed to me making the $13.76...I would have questioned it 18 months ago if I'd thought there was an error!

[colleen10]

This post and a couple others that have popped up in the past couple days, (like the one about the nurses having to go back for Master's Degrees), and Rhonda's message really bring something to mind.

We, as employees, really have no idea what our rights are and if they should be trampled on by our employers, don't know who to go to to make sure our rights are not revoked.

That's really sad. And I don't mean just for nurses, but everyone.

Thanks Rhonda, for letting us know where to start getting help if we need it and don't have a union to turn to.

[ainz]

I advise that you follow the policies and procedures in your organization regarding communication. Writing a letter directly to the CEO may not work. If you put in your letter that you have contacted, or will contact, your lawyer, attorney, etc., it will only inflame matters and make it worse for you.

I would start with HR since they handle these types of issues. I would put everything in writing and hang on to that documentation of where your raise was authorized.

The laws governing this type of thing vary somewhat from state to state. I would not worry with an attorney but go straight to the federal government with this. The following is contact information to get the ball rolling:

Wage & Hour Information Line (US Labor Department)

1-866-487-9243

They will need to know your zip code and city. They can tell you if you have a case and direct you to the appropriate federal and/or state authority to get this handled. They can also tell you if you do not have a case. If this is the case, I would then contact a private attorney and see if there is any recourse then.

Whatever you do, you should send the message that you give the organization the benefit of the doubt that they made an error. If it is not an error on their part, then you will go to the proper government authority. This will SCARE them as they do not want the feds poking around in their hospital. When the feds come in, they also can look at other stuff that can have a domino effect.

I am also horrified that you are only making $13 something!! Are you an RN?

Good luck.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by colleen10

Dude, you were paid $0.40 cents more an hour than your fellow employees! And to top it off, your supervisor put in for your raise and technically you got it.

There is no reason you should feel like you were taking money from them. They TOLD you that you were to make $13.76 an hour. It's not like you poped open your check one day and found an extra grand in there and didn't tell anybody.

Dude, you are giving them too much credit!

WWJJD - What would Judge Judy do?

When I was a tech at the VA the RN's got notices about this big raise they were getting. Seemed to good to be true, but they got it.

Sure enough a month later they recognized a major calculation error. Rather than say "we're taking the $400.00 we overpaid out of the your paycheck at once, we are going to take x dollars a month." And take it back they did.

Again, big business and governments know what they can legally get away with. I've always worked in nonunion areas. I'm not saying don't challenge it. I'm not saying it's not fair. I think they should shut up and suck it up and give her the money. But these organizations know what they can and can't get away with, usually. But perhaps as was said above, I'm giving them too much credit.

[CseMgr1, ASN, RN]

Originally posted by 3rdShiftGuy

Again, big business and governments know what they can legally get away with. I've always worked in nonunion areas. I'm not saying don't challenge it. I'm not saying it's not fair. I think they should shut up and suck it up and give her the money. But these organizations know what they can and can't get away with, usually. But perhaps as was said above, I'm giving them too much credit.

In other words...the Lord giveth...and the Lord taketh away.

What a crock.....

[-jt]

A friend of mine had a similar thing happen to her. It was the hospitals error and for 2 years they didnt realize they were overpaying her for her BSN. They finally adjusted her pay to the correct amount but also told her she had to pay back the 2 years worth of extra pay - which came to about $5000.

She called a lawyer.

Turns out it was the hospitals mistake and they had to eat it.

The RN did NOT have to pay it back.

[Chttynurs]

Cotjockey, if I were in your shoes, I don't even think I could keep myself very composed about the whole thing. In my opinion, you're not making enough in the first place.......I'm assuming it's just because of the area of the country you work in.....I'm flabbergasted at the difference in pay scale depending on where you live. But, getting back to the subject, I REALLY like caroladybelle idea about contacting the media if the facility you work at insists on you paying them back for their 'mistake'. I don't know if it's the BEST idea, but like I said, if I were going through the same thing, I don't think I'd be very calm!! Good luck and please keep us updated! :)

[Monica RN,BSN]

You bet this is illegal.. They cannot take back whenthey gave you an agreed upon salary. They can refuse to give you further raises, butthey cant take it away. It would probably cost more than its worth to get a lawyer, but it is the principle that really counts. I would agree with a lot of good advice here and start with the wage and labor board for sure. I would go to the top of the chain and work down instead of the normal chain of command, as in this case, starting at the bottom and going up will delay the process and will not produce very quick results. Then I would not hesitate to quit. Just my 2 cents worth.......

[live4today, RN]

Those dagblasted cheaters!!! Don't let them get away with that one! Sue! Quit AFTER you get it straightened out, too. :kiss

[shodobe]

The last thing I remember was that the only one who could "legally" deduct from your pay WITHOUT your permission was a court order garnishing your wages for either child support, back taxes or alimony. You have to give written permission for all other reason unless they can prove you knowingly took money that was not yours. Check with the local labor board to be sure, each state is different. Good luck, Mike

[Frogman]

I don't think they can legally do that. It was their error and they need to suck it up. Does your place of employment have a employee relations person or labor union? If not, call a lawyer.

[Shiva_Las_Vegas]

What ever happened with this???

[Nurse Ratched, RN]

Hey, cotjockey - how'd it work out for you?