Arizona Labor Law Board

July 29th, 2006 Posted by Kimberly

In Arizona the Industrial Commission of Arizona is the governing body of labor issues. It was originally founded to help with workers compensation issues in 1925. Since then this organization has taken on almost all of the responsibilities that are associated with the laws of labor to help you in Arizona. The commission is run by a five member committee. This five member committee is picked by the governor of the state however approvals of these appointments must go through the state’s legislature.

This organization oversees all of aspects of labor laws for you. These range from protecting the minor workers in the state to administering the health and safety of the various employers throughout the state. This commission also helps you to handle all issues in regards to workers compensation and wage issues. They are also responsible for the control of OSHA in the state of Arizona, thus making them the overseers of your safety while working. They work to make sure that you are always in a safe working environment through education and making and enforcing safety rules for the workplace. They want to provide for you the ability to go into work and not have to worry about whether or not you are going to come home hurt and if so what they are going to do about it.

The ICA is run by Larry Etchechury who is the director as appointed by the governor. This commission oversees all activities and laws that are provided to protect you. They cover all areas of labor in the state of Arizona, ranging from minor labor laws to overtime and everything that can be found in between. They are responsible for both the administration and the enforcement of these laws as well. They also ensure that companies are in compliance with these laws ion regards to you.

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241 Comments >> Posted in Arizona,Compliance Issues,Department of Labor

Posted by: Marcia Diane

To Whom It May Concern,
My colleagues and I have questions concerning practices we consider to be unfair and perhaps illegal and want to know the truth about our situation.

We are counselors on salary, not wages. We were hired to work 8am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. We rotate being on-call, as this is a residential treatment center (our place of employment is CVH, company name deleted) for substance abuse. Until recently our employer has paid for one counselor to work on Saturday and another counselor to work on Sunday; each will run the program alone that day.

Recently the employee who worked Sunday quit and our management has stated they will not replace the counselor. They have mandated that we have to rotate working Sunday when we are scheduled to be on-call. We will be compensated a day off for working Sunday. However, none of the counselors had agreed to do this before hand and none want to do this.

Is this legal to mandate we work on Sunday when this was not the condition we agreed to when hired? We are in essence being forced to work on Sunday or quit. In addition, since it is the counselor on call that works Sunday, that person may be called in all hours of the day or night on Saturday or Sunday, if required. This has produced a very tired counselor when faced with this situation. Our patients are sometimes in jeopardy of using drugs or drinking alcohol and it could be a life or death situation if staff members are not alert. In addition, we are chronically understaffed in all departments.
Please email me and let me know if this is fair practice or what recourse we may have.
Thank you so much for a prompt reply.
Marcia
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Marcia!

It sounds like this is really a tough situation for you and your fellow counselors.

Although none of you was hired to work on Sunday, employers are permitted to change working conditions. So yes, you probably do have to work an occasional Sunday.

The on-call situation is more problematic. For a more complete answer, post your question on our sister site for employees, http://www.laborlawtalk.com.

Thanks for reading! Amelia
Posted by: Tameria Arredondo

Hi,
An employee has been employed since April. She finds out she is pregnant in October. Soon after her she is told she has a high risk pregnancy and is put on a Doctor ordered restriction. The restrictions make it impossible for her to preform her job. She is told they cannot accomidate her and she will have to go on short term disability. Two days before she qualifies for FMLA she is told she is being terminated because did not come back to work. At the time she is on full bed rest and trying to keep the twins as long as she can. She call Cardinal and says find something for her to do because she can not lose her job and health insurance. She is told not to come to work. Management calls HR. They say they will not terminate her. She can use 2 days of her Paid Time Off, (she has used none) that will take her to April 30 and she will qualify for FMLA. Since that time they have terminated her, she lost her benifits and the insurance will not pay the Hospital Bill because they say she was terminated on in April. How can a company state that you can not come to work and then terminate you because you did not come to work?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Tameria! Unfortunately, there’s a dilemma here. The employer can’t allow an employee with restrictions to work, because if she lost the babies, the employer might be sued. By the same token, the employer is not required to grant benefits that the employee hasn’t earned yet. Employees must work for the employer for 12 months to qualify for FMLA. If the employer has more than 20 workers with health insurance, the employee should be entitled to COBRA insurance coverage. For a complete answer to all your questions, post them at our sister site, http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And thanks for reading our blog! Amelia
Posted by: Franchesca

Hello, I’m pretty sure that it’s against some Arizona labor law for me to work an 8-9 hour shift without a lunch break. I have been working for this company for a year and 9 months. I have never complained about the fact that I don’t get a break but now I am 4 months pregnant and I really need to make sure that I eat a nutritious meal instead of the unhealthy snacks that I’ve been bringing. I asked my supervisor to please ask her boss if I can have at least a 1/2 hour break. I have not been given a straight answer from anyone and I continue to get lame excuses and reasons why my request has not been filled. Where can I find something that states the law clearly on this subject, in writing, so I can give it to my bosses and possibly threaten to report them?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Franchesca! For complete answers to this and all your HR questions, post them on the forum at our sister site, http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And thanks for reading the blog!! Amelia
Posted by: Jason

Amelia, my helper and I were pulled into the conferance room by the plant manager and were told that our services would no longer be needed at this company. We were given no reason why whatsoever. We have been bending over backwards for the past six months putting in over 200 hrs of overtime. Working 7 days a week sometimes, day shifts and night shifts all in the same week, 12hr shifts, 14 plus hr shifts. Sure we complained sometimes but it was ridiculous. They knew I lived a good hour away too, and my helper is 60 years old and had a heart attack and was taken from this company’s premisis by ambulance but whatever we gave it was never enough. I was with this company for almost 6 years and my helper over 3. Of course there are more injustices that I could write that we suffered but this is only about the question of our dismissal, WITH NO REASON. When I asked why we were told Arizona is a funny state, it’s a right to work state. That’s it nothing more, also our positions were immediately filled by two new men off the street. It just doesn’t seem fair. Jason
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jason — I feel your pain! The supervisor understood the concept, but used the wrong language. “Right to work” does not apply in this case. It simply means that employees can’t be required to join a labor union, in order to be hired. The supervisor should have said that Arizona is an “employment at will” state, meaning that an employee can quit without giving any reason at all. By the same token, an employer can fire a worker, without giving any reason at all. There are exceptions for discrimination based on age, sex, race, color, religion, pregnancy, etc. For a more complete answer, please post your question on our sister site http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And thanks for reading the blog! I know things will get better for you! Amelia
Posted by: Ismael

My collegues and myself have concerns about our employer. We are truck drivers who haul fuel. We have been paid a incentive to cross state lines but, now in a recent pay check I observed that I was not paid that incentive. I advised management and was told that they can make a choice without notice not to pay that incentive. Several of drivers were not compensated as well as myself? Can they do this?

They also make the employees sign a agreement that when we are in refinery racks or fueling the tanker for the next customer, regardless if it takes the employee 3-4 hours we are to give the company the first hour without pay? Can they do this?

Also, if we have made a mistake on our pay sheet on miles or time or did not put any delays, they do not pay us and don’t advise us until we receive our checks and advise them why weren’t we paid. We also, have two ladies in the office who can catch these mistakes before, the checks are issued, but don’t. Then we are told that we have to wait to get paid until the next pay period? Which would be two weeks because we get paid every two weeks. I think it’s only fair they pay us immediately, not have to wait two weeks until the next payday? Can they do this? Please advise at your earliest convenience . Thank you.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ismael! That’s a complex situation! For complete answers to your questions, please post them at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And, thanks for reading our blogs! Amelia
Posted by: Deborah

I was hired on with a company on March 31, 2008. When I was hired I attended a training and completed new hire paperwork. I was told we would be paid for the training. However, my first salaried paycheck was from April 1st to April 15th and did not include March 31st. Then, about five weeks after I started, they sent me an employee handbook which they had revised on April 15t. I believe this his effected my employment status. When I was hired, I was lead to believe this was a permanent full time salaried position. However, the revised handbook which I was forced to sign (I have a letter that states they will hold any further checks until this revised handbook acknowledgement is signed) appears to have changed my status to a “temporary employee” during the probationary period. I believe the company is having cash flow problems and on June 27th 2008 I was terminated from my salaried position and was offered a commission only job. The company has not been advertising so many of the employees on commssion have not had any business. I could not afford to take that position as my expenses would have excceeded my income. I applied for unemployment and it appears as though I will not qualify do to my so called “temporary status” will the company. Is there anything I can do? I am actively looking for work.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Deborah! Wow, this is a tough problem. For a complete answer, please post it on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And thanks for reading the blogs! Amelia
Posted by: Jennifer Guajardo

Hello,
I am 5 1/2 months pregenant and work remotely for a company based in Denver, CO. I am being laid off and my last day of work will be 9/15/08 and they are offerring me 2 month salary as a severance. I have been with this company for 9 years and feel that this is an unfair practice. Do you have any suggestions on who I could contact regarding this matter?
Thanks.
Jennifer
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jennifer! That’s a very tough situation. For a complete discussion, please post your question on our sister site, http://www.laborlawtalk.com. Thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: KateJ

I am trying find any kind of Arizona ruling, or precedent; I work in Az for a Nationwide company that just cut Arizona wages by 20% (across the board) due to the enconomy. As a result, I have tendered my notice, and my final wages will include 140 hours of unused vacation. I have been told that that vacation “pay” will be on the 20% reduced basis. If I accumulated the vacation time before the wage cut, shouldn’t I be paid on that previous salary basis (20% reduction is a chunk!)
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Kate! For a complete discussion of this important issue, please post it on our forums at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And thanks for reading the blog! ~ Amelia
Posted by: Codi

I was hired on with a company in August 2006 making this August my two year anniversary with the company. At one year full time employees like myself get one week paid vacation and at two years we get two weeks of paid vacation. In February of this year we were bought out by a new corporation but we are still the same company. I put in for my two weeks vacation and I am being told by the company that I am no longer eligible for the vacation time. They said that I would have had to already have that time built up before we were bought out by the new corporation. This does not seem fair or legal. I was not informed that I would lose my vacation time at the time of the purchase along with many other employees at my company. Do you have any suggestions on who i could speak to or what needs to be done in order to get my paid vacation?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Codi! This is a tough situation! For a complete answer to your question, please post it on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And thanks for reading the blogs! ~ Amelia
Posted by: Lynn

I would like to know if you are a salary employee and you call out sick is there a law that says the employer has to pay you. Our employee handbook does not say there is a limit for salaried employees only a cap on hourly employees sick time. Thanks
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Lynn! This is an interesting issue! For a complete answer, please post it at our HR forum on http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: Lynn

Message
I work for a Telemarketing company and we have inside sale reps. We have been paying them commission vs hourly (minimum wage).

We are finding that several of our reps. have come to rely on the minimum wage and are not making sales. Do we have to pay minimum wage or can we just pay straight commission? If we do have to pay minimum wage vs commission, do we have to pay overtime for any hours worked over 40 even if we did not ask them to work those hours, or can we just pay minimum wage?

Thank you
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Lynn! Yes, you’ll need to pay the minimum wage to your employees. Outside sales people can be salaried exempt under the federal FLSA, but not inside sales people. That same law requires employers to pay overtime to any worker who puts in more than 40 hours per week — even if the employer did not ask the worker to do so. In fact, even if the employer specifically forbids employees from working overtime, they can be fired or disciplined for it, but they must be paid time-and-a-half for each overtime hour worked.

There is a simple solution to both of your problems. You can establish minimum sales quotas for each employee, and discipline or terminate those who do not meet thier quotas. The slackers will quickly find that they need to perform better, if they are written up when they don’t. The minimum acceptable sales level can coincide with the effort necessary to get their commission up to minimum wage level.

You can also establish a firm policy of not allowing overtime unless it is specifically approved by a supervisor, and disciplining any employee who works unauthorized overtime.

By the way, we have a special forum for employers and HR pros set up to answer questions exactly like this. It’s at http://www.humanresourcesblog.com. Feel free to ask any questions over there. And thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: chris

Amelia
I have been working for a family owned company that refused to pay overtime. I have worked about 1 hour overtime a week for the last 7 1/2 years
they have also altered payroll records to show that I only worked 40 hours a week. What should I do.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Chris! Well, I have good news and bad news. First, the bad news. Arizona does not have any overtime law at the state level.

Federal law may apply if the employer has annual revenue of $500,000 or more. Or, if the employee’s duties include interstate commerce (mail, using email or the Internet, catalog sales, buying from out-of-state vendors, accepting credit card payments, etc.)

So you may not be entitled to overtime at a higher rate.

Here’s the good news: Under both Arizona and federal law, employees must be paid for all hours worked. That means that while you may not be entitled to time-and-a-half for that extra hour, you are entitled to payment at your regular rate.

You should contact both the Arizona Industrial Commission and the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor at http://www.dol.gov about this. Usually, their investigations and back wages only extend for 3 years in the past.

It may also be time to look for a job with a more ethical employer. For more suggestions, post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blog!~ Amelia
Posted by: jon

I worked at a convenience store for 2 years and had no write ups. They fired me for giving a customer a refilll price insted of regular price when the customer comes in the store a lot. I guese you just can’t be nice to people any more. It was a total of 60 cents. How can that be legal? When another employee lost them over 200 dollars in cash, in the same month, he did not even get written up for it the last 2 times. He did the first time. How is that fairor even legal, for them to that?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jon! Most people would agree that treating employees fairly is just good management. However, there is no law that companies must be managed well.

An employee might easily see charging regular customers a lower price as just being nice. In fact, the employee might believe that it is good for business. But, the business owner may see it as stealing. To him, it is very much like giving your friends free candy bars. That said, a good manager would simply tell the employee not to do it again, rather than fire him or her.

Without knowing all the details, we can’t tell if the $200 incident is relevant or not. If the decision to fire or not fire the worker was made based on his or her race, color, religion, sex, age (over 40), pregnancy, disability, etc. then it would be illegal discrimination. However, if the decision was made for another reason — even an unfair one — then it is not illegal. For a more complete discussion, post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: Amber Holmes

I feel that I have been wrongfully terminated from [employer name deleted]ST in Safford, Arizona. When I was hired in Oct. of 2007 there were two requirements that went along with the job: 1. That I obtain a CDL and 2. That I obtain my Level I (one) Wastewater Operator certification. Both of these requirements needed to be met within my first year. Not only have I met both requirements, I was also able to pass my level II (two) certification in that amount of time.
Once I was hired , my boss and my coworker both told me that on the day of my initial interview, another person who has an office in the building but doesn’t actually work for ST (he works for the City of Safford, ST’s client) said, “You’re not going to hire that dyke, are you?” At which time my future supervisor, the plant manager supposedly told him that that kind of language would not be tolerated.
This person, Harry Williams, has had it in for me ever since I started working there and is the reason another coworker, Jesse Mitchell, elected to retire early.
When Jesse retired, ST hired a replacement and this person, Trent Hancock has also told me that Harry does not like me and that he freely uses the term “dyke” when referring to me.
A couple of months ago my partner, my mother, and the City Mayor showed up at my office with flowers and a cake to congratulate me on passing my level II certification testing and when they left, my supervisor Jeremy Samuels told me that he was “really pissed that the Mayor showed up unannounced.”
Since that day things have been strained for me at work and I have since found out that the outgoing City Manager for Safford hand-picked ST and Jeremy Samuels specifically for the wastewater contract with the City of Safford. When the Mayor was reelected, the City Manager quit, leaving Jeremy without his “protector.”
There is more to this story that I can get into if you decide to take this case.
Finally, I went to Jeremy about six weeks ago to complain that Harry was making me feel really uncomfortable with some of the things that he was saying to me and to others. Jeremy’s response was: “Just try to stay away from him…he’s our client.” That is what I have tried to do, but I do not enjoy being around Harry. I hate that he can get away with some of the slander that I know he spreads about me.
So, I began looking for work elsewhere and had an interview at the lab for the local copper mine. This was on Wed. September 22nd.
On Monday, September 29th, I went in to work as usual, was called into the boss’ office and “let go.” The only reason given to me was that I had been “a few minutes late a couple times last week.”
I have NEVER been spoken to or written up for being late. To date, I still haven’t even received any dismissal paperwork, though they did send me a final paycheck via fedex.
I have copies of all my time cards as well as a copy of the employee handbook which details the process for disciplining employees for tardiness. This process includes verbal and written warnings followed by suspensions and ultimately termination.
What I want to know now is if I have any kind of case. I don’t know why I was fired and never saw it coming. I have gotten good reviews at each interval and only recently got a small raise as a result of my new certification level.
If you think I have a case, will you please call me at your earliest convenience to recommend my next course of action?
Sincerely,
Amber Holmes
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Amber! This is a tough issue, and we wish we could offer more hope. It certainly sounds like you are the target of discrimination based on your sexual orientation. Unfortunately, that type of discrimination is not illegal under federal or Arizona law. It’s not fair and it’s not right, but it’s not against the law.

Under Arizona law, it is illegal to discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age (over 40), disability, or pregnancy. That is also true of federal law. You can read more info at this site: http://www.azag.gov/civil_rights/discrimination.html#Employment

An alternate explaination would be that the company let you go simply because they learned you were looking for another job.

You may have a case for wrongful termination, since the company did not follow its own policies for discipling an employee who was tardy. Or, you may have a case against Mr. Harry Williams for slander or liable. Your best bet would be to consult an attorney about possibly filing a lawsuit. Unfortunately, it is doubtful that the Arizona or U.S. Department of Labor will be able to help you, because it appears that no laws have been broken. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: brianna

The company I am working for told me I would be making $6.90 an hour but what they didn’t tell me till I had already worked there for a week is that I didn’t make base pay on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I would only make commistion. So the days I worked on the weekend I worked for free. I was also told that I could not leave the stand more then 5 mins and could only leave twice and had to eat lunch at the stand. Later on they told me that the chair that we were given to sit and rest in would be taken away because sales were low and we weren’t doing our jobs that they were paying us for. The chair was taken away later that week so we were made to stand and for me being 7 months pregnant and they always schedule me for 12 hour shifts since no one else can work and they themselves don’t want to work. I have to work just to make sure I can make an ok pay check and I still worked 12 hour shifts on the weekend and when I dont sell anything I work for free. He then told me last week that starting october 16th he would only be paying commishion and would no longer be paying the base pay at all no matter what, that would mean I would have to sell $500 dollars worth of product to even earn the base pay I was making. I just don’t know what to do because I don’t think this is legal or fair, is he doing anything wrong or am i just being silly?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Brianna! You are not being silly at all. These are horrible working conditions. If employers had to take a test like the driver’s license test, this guy would fail it.

It sounds like you are working in a retail environment, like a mall kiosk. The minimum wage in Arizona is $6.90 per hour. The employer must pay you $6.90 per hour for the time you work, even if you don’t sell anything. If there is any paycheck where you do not earn $6.90 per hour for the time you worked, you should report the employer to the industrial Commission of Arizona. (In some cases, if you average more than $6.90 per hour in commissions over the pay period, the employer would not have to pay you an hourly wage.)

The employer lied to you about your wages, by promising the legal minimum wage and then changing it to a commission-only basis on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That is unethical, and it may be illegal. However, it is going to be hard to prove, unless both payment policies are in writing, or you have witnesses to his initial promist to pay an hourly wage.

A few states have laws requiring employers to provide chairs or meal breaks to workers. Arizona does not. However, employers must make a reasonable accommodation for employees with a disability, and for this purpose pregnancy is a disability. If your doctor provides a note that you should not be on your feet for 12 hours, and must have a chair, the employer will have to provide one. If he does not, contact the EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov regarding discrimination under the ADA, Americans with Disabilites Act.

Also, the employer cannot limit the number of bathroom visits you must make, especially since you are pregnant.

Technically, employers are not permitted to take negative actions against employees who report illegal conduct. That is called retaliation, and it is illegal. If you were fired for any of the above reasons, you would probalbly qualify for unemployment.

You are under no obligation to work 12 hours shifts for this person, just because he can’t find anyone else. His unfair employment practices are why he can’t find anyone else.

It would be wiser for you to look for another job. Unreasonable employers do not suddenly turn into reasonable people one day, so this is not going to get any better. You can also post your questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: nita

My husband just started working about 2 months ago for a real estate company doing maintenance work on their houses and apartments.He goes to different buildings or homes a day. When he got paid on his last check, he thought it was a little short, and this time when he turned in his paperwork, his boss started deducting hours right there. She said he doesnt get paid to go from job A to job B to job C, etc. He was hired as hourly, not piecemeal. Can she cut his travel time out of his check?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Nita! No, this is probably illegal under federal law, and maybe state law as well. Generally under federal guidelines, travel time from the employee’s home to the first worksite of the day (or to the employer’s office) is unpaid. However, when the employee leaves that site, and travels to other worksites, that time is considered “all in a day’s work.” In other words, it is work time and the employee must be paid for it.

Your best bet would be to contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division at http://www.dol.gov and the Industrial Commission of Arizona. You can also post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Ina Valperts

My son lives in Arizona. His boss does not come up with pay for overtime and shorts him on bonuses. My son’s name is Jody. [phone numbers deleted]
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ina! This is probably not legal. You or your son should contact the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Industrial Commission of Arizona. This is probably a violation of federal overtime laws. For more info, post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

PS Readers: please don’t post your personal contact information on the site. We are not able to contact readers personally, but we will post answers to comments whenever possible.
Posted by: brianna

Ok, so after I told my boss that he had to pay me hourly becasue it was illegal not to he yelled at me to shut up ,stop my bullshit and that he would pay me anything he pleased becasue he ran his company how he wished. So that day I quit becasue of what he told me. Now, he was supposd to pay me Wednesday, he said that to me Wednesday, and Wednesday my other manager came by trying to pay me in cash. I refused the cash and told her they had to give me a real check. The next day I called him telling him he had to pay me in check form and he yelled at me again about me being a pain in has ass and I would have to pick it up at the work place the next day at one. At four he wasn’t there and called and tells me that he wont be there and to meet him at a second location. I go to the second location, I”m waiting and he calls again to go to the thrid location. On my way to the third location he calls me again and tells me that my check is with a friend of his in the QT parking lot. I say fine and when I get there this guy I dont know has my check. Its not in any envelope or any thing no break down of what he took out of it and its still short a hundred dollars. Just a cashiers check with my name on it in this guys pocket. Can i make a court case out of all this?
Posted by: Cheryl

Hey there…
I was let go and now the employer is attempting to blame all company failings on me and slandering me…. First I was accused of stealing, fraud and the dollar figure changes depending on whom they are speaking with.

They apparently are going to formally complain and such but I am sure this is threats only. Do I have any rights in stopping them? I know beyond a doubt I DID not take anything period from this firm!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Cheryl! This is an interesting situation. It is normal for an employer to blame mistakes and problems on a former employee. In fact, it’s almost routine. However, accusing the former employee of fraud and stealing goes way beyond what is acceptable.

It is not clear how the employer would lodge a formal complaint, unless they contacted the police. There is no “official” clearning house for complaints about former emloyees.

However, what the employer is doing is either libel or slander. You can contact an attorney. The lawyer will send a letter to the former employer, threatening a lawsuit if they continue. This will almost certainly stop the rumors.

If you can’t afford an attorney, you can call the employer or send a letter reminding them that unless you have been tried and convicted of stealing from them, they are subject to a lawsuit if they spread rumors.

Also post a question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Ravshanbek

Hello. My name is Ravshanbek. I work for [Employer name deleted], a food company. My problem is: When I was hired a rep of UFCW,which is Union organization, came to the orientation and had us signed some paperwork. It turned out a yearly contract.They took advantage of my poor English and they actually taking 9 dollars and some cents from my paycheck every single week. I called them so that to cancel my membership with the company. They said that I could not cancel it before I complete the year. I don’t know what to do who to talk to about the issue. So I would like to get some advice from you.
I appreciate your help.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ravshanbek! That’s an interesting question! For a complete answer, please post it on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH,and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Nikkie

My boyfreind has been working for [employer name deleted] for the past almost two years and for the past two months he has not got paid. Now thay are refuseing to pay him along with other workers. We have tried to talk to them and they still refuse to pay. I just dont know what to do any more. Please Help Thank you
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Nikkie! This is obviously illegal. Under Arizona law, employees must be paid at least twice per month and within 5 days of the end of the pay period.

Our suggestion is that your boyfriend file a wage claim immediately with the Arizona Industrial Commission at http://www.ica.state.arizona.us.

Is the employer having financial problems? In some cases, if the company goes out of business, the employees may never get paid. For that reason, your boyfriend may want to consider looking for another job. (He may also qualify for unemployment.) For more info, post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Linda

My daughter is working for a company and I believe they are being treated unfairly. There are a limited number of computers, so when they get to work they have to wait for a computer to become available, which may be after their start time. Because the computer is how they log in, if the are late because the computers are in use, they are required to make up the time although they scanned their badges and were in the building and ready to work on time. If they do not make up this time they are written up. They work 6 days a week 7 hours per day with 1/2 hour unpaid lunch. My daughter was involved in an accident 15 months ago, hit by a drunk driver. His sentencing was on Friday 11/14. She provided the letter from the court requesting the day off to be told she could have the day off, but she would have to work her day off which is Thursday. This meant she would have to work 7 days straight. Because she was not feeling good and called off on Thursday and was in court on Friday she was told she had to make up the time Saturday and Sunday. Because she did not make up the time, she was written up.
Please tell me this is illegal. It is not their fault if they can not get a computer in time or if they are sick why are they penalized if they take a day off. They work 39 hours per week if they put in more then that, that’s a write up. There are no benefits. Granted she doesn’t have to be there. She is seeking employment elsewhere but for those that stay what can be done> Who do they contact and how?

Linda
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Linda! Yes, this is illegal on both fronts.

Under federal as well as California law, an employee must be paid for all time worked. That includes time waiting to use a computer, or waiting for work to be available.

California is one of the few states that provides mandatory unpaid leave for all employees who are victims of violent crimes to attend judicial proceedings. The employer should have given your daughter the time off, without requiring that she make it up. Unfortunately, that does not excuse your daughter for being absent the day before.

Our suggestion is that you contact the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement on both these issues. They can direct you to the proper enforcement agency.

For more info, you can also post your questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Don

The company I worked for in Arizona closed our Call Center this month without any advanced warning. It was very unprofessional the way they did it. When I applied for Unemployment Benefits, I discovered that the Company didn’t report any earnings for the last four quarters to the state of Arizona for me. I had been employed there for over the last two years. I had to take proof of wages to the local Employment Office. How serious is this for the Company? And what would be my recourse? Thanks, Don
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Don! This is very serious for the company. Thank goodness that you had proof of earnings, so that you could collect unemployment benefits.

The company basically has not been paying their Arizona unemployment taxes. They will be fined, plus have to pay the back taxes.

Often when a company breaks one employment law, they break others as well. Has the company been withholding federal income taxes from your check? They may have violated the federal WARN act, which requires employers to give workers (and the community, and the state department of labor) 60 days notice when shutting down a facility, or laying off more than 50 people. If you suspect the company has violated WARN or any additional employment laws, you might want to file a complaint with the state or federal department of labor. You can also post questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Alex

Hi Amelia

Here’s my situation. I have been working for my company for over a year now. It was my first job when I moved here from out of state. I was working overtime hours and was not being paid time and a half for them. When I asked why, my manager told me that in the state of Arizona overtime was not required to be paid. I was hitting 120 hours every pay period. 8 months later the labor board questioned all of us about our hours and I told the truth. 2 days later my hours were cut drastically to about 60 every pay period. That’s a HUGE income change for me and I am raising a family which has gotten very hard for me. Is there anything I can do to get back pay for those overtime hours?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Alex! Whether or not you can get back pay for the overtime hours will depend upon whether the company is covered under federal law. The employer was right — Arizona has no overtime law at the state level. So only companies covered by the federal overtime law, must pay overtime. (The company was required to pay you straight time for all hours worked, but it appears that they did so.)

Companies with annual revenue of $500,000 or more are required to pay employees overtime after 40 hours per payroll week, under the FLSA or federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Companies that engage in interstate commerce are also required to pay overtime. Buying products from an out-of-state vender, or having an internet connection at work, or accepting credit cards for payment, usually qualifies the employer as engaging in interstate commerce.

Even when the company does not engage in interstate commerce, an employee may be covered under federal law. For example, if the employee produces products to be sold out of state, or works in the mail room shipping and receiving packages from out of state, that employee would be covered under federal law, and entitled to overtime (even if other employees at the company were not.)

Contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division at http://www.dol.gov, and file a complaint. They will determine if you are covered by the federal law. If you are, they will file a lawsuit (at no charge to you) to collect for you. You can also post questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: william

I’m a tour guide and started working for my company three years ago as an independent contractor. Now I work in the office as part of the management team still as a contractor. Ive noticed that I’m not getting the same benefits as the other office employees. i work about 45 hours a week with no overtime, I get no vacation time, or paid days off. Do I need to become an full employee or can I stay a contractor to get these benefits.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi William! Independent contractors are not entitled to the same benefits as employees. An independent contractor runs his or her own business, and usually determines his or her own working conditions.

If the tour company you work for dictates when, where and how you work, then you probably should not be classified as an independent contractor — they may be breaking the law by not classifying you as an employee. If you think they are, contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour division at http://www.dol.gov. Among other things, employees are entitled to overtime — independent contractors are not. You can also post questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Marcia

I’ve been working at a law firm that employs 10 people. We are all hourly employees and are required to clock in and out for breaks, personal phone calls and lunch. However, the manager/owner has just imposed a $5 fine for anyone that clocks in late. Even if they are just 3 minutes tardy. Needless to say, this has caused a huge scandal but no one is willing to bring it up to the manager for fear of losing their jobs or be scrutinized even more than we already are.
If I bring it up, my concern is that they will hide behind the “Small Business” firm rules and regs and I would just like to know if this is legal and worth mentioning. Where can I get more information?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Marcia! This is certainly a very unorthodox method of curbing tardiness, and not one that we recommend. But, it may be legal.

I’m not sure what “small business” rules and regs you refer to. Both federal and Arizona minimum wage laws permit the employer to make deductions to an employees paycheck, if the employee gives written permission in advance. Many employee handbooks include a provision for fines or deductions for disciplinary reasons. Employees normally sign a page of the handbook, signifying that they agree to all policies.

If there is no mention of deductions for disciplinary fines in the handbook, then it probably would be illegal for the employer to deduct them from the employee’s paycheck. If this fine results in the employee being paid less than the state or federal minimum wage for actual hours worked in any payperiod, then it is illegal.

If the employer is requiring that employees pay the fine in cash, rather than as a payroll deduction, and the employee still nets more than the federal or state minimum wage, that may very well be legal. An employee could certainly refuse, but the employer could probably terminate him or her for the refusal.

There are many workplaces where being 3 minutes tardy occasionally would be no big deal. There are others where if an employee is on the schedule at 7 am, and arrives at 7:01 am, the employee is tardy. It is a big deal and the employee is disciplined. Discipline can take a variety of forms, from poor performance evaluations, no raises, written warnings, fines or suspensions to termination.

A better way of handling this would be for the employer to give written warnings to employees who are tardy, and terminate them after 3 written warnings. However, we will point out that as unusual as this practice is, it seems to be very effective. It has certainly made an impression on the employees, and that is probably what the employer wanted. For more info, you can post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Joe

I have been employed full time (40 hours a week) with an audio and video company for four years. In the last month Myself and the five other people that work in the warehouse have been given no notice and told to not show up for up to two weeks at a time. Is this legal? I have been told that this is a forced release or something and that I should be able to claim unemployment for that down time. My company says if we work for another company that they will fire us. Can I as a full time employee be told not to come in for a week? I am hourly and can’t afford to not get paid!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Joe! This is a tough situation. Yes, the employer can furlough employees, or put them on a temporary lay off. Hourly employees only need to be paid for the hours that they work.

It may not be legal that the employer says if you work for another company while you are on furlough, you will be terminated. Most companies would be happy for you to work for a temp service or another employer while you are off. Many employees would be tempted to do this, and hope they don’t get caught. If you are caught, however, you may have to hire a lawyer to file a wrongful termination case.

The employer is correct that you should qualify for unemployment during this period. For more answers, post your questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Emily

My company has recently told us our hours would be cut as we are slower than normal. I’ve worked for the company for two years and have been a full time employee the entire time.

My hours were cut to 24hrs a week, and now I have zero hours a week. Our boss and HR department have been unhelpful simply telling us that the economy is bad (I work in hospitiality) and that things will hopefully “start looking up with the new year”.

I’m wondering if it is legal for a company to give a full time employee no hours for weeks at a time (other full time employees have had no hours for the past two or three weeks) and also if I would qualify for any kind of unemployment during this time as I am still technically employed.

Thank you!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Emily! You are facing a problem that is very common in the hospitality industry, where scheduling is based upon the level of business.

You certainly can apply for unemployment benefits, and you should do so as soon as possible. Unemployment benefits replace some of the lost income when an employee’s hours are drastically cut. If you are otherwise qualified, you should receive unemployment benefits until things pick up. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Talia

I recently quit my job working for a lawyer because of his sexually harassing, obscene, and extremely unethical nature.

After I submitted my 2-weeks notice, he started to personally attack me with rude and sarcastic comments and behavior.

As his last effort to retaliate my leaving, he authorized a deduction from my paycheck for an education class (that I was forced to attend and reluctantly attended) without my knowledge or consent. He even mentioned before the class that he (the company) was to be paying for the class. The class was for the sole benefit of the company and not myself. When leaving the company I even left behind all the educational materials that I received during the class.

Did he have the right to practically steal that money from me? Or was it legal for him to do what he did?

Please help! Thank you so much!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Talia! That sounds like a bad situation, and it is probably better that you are out of it.

As far as the payroll deduction, it may be legal. Many employers today have policies that the employee must pay the company back for any training the employee has received in the past 12 months. Usually, such policies are stated in the employee handbook or offer letter. If the employee refuses to sign, they are not hired. Because the employee has given permission, they are usually legal deductions. Many companies even require employees to pay back the cost of airline tickets and hotel stays, as well as tuition for seminars that the employee did not want to attend in the first place.

Unfortunately, although this isn’t really fair, it is legal in most cases. For more info, post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Kim

What if your employer is witholding comissions that are due to the salesperson? The commissions are clearly laid out in the comp plan. How would you proceed?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Kim! Unfortunately, in this case you may have to either take the employer to small claims court, or hire an attorney to enforce the compensation agreement. You can represent yourself in small claims court, no attorney is necessary. You can contact the Industrial Commission of Arizona, but generally they enforce only claims for wages, not commissions.

Before you do this, have a frank discussion with the employer on why the commissions are not being paid. If this is an ongoing problem, you need to ask yourself: Do I want to work for an employer who cannot or will not pay me the commissions I am due? That’s a question only you can answer. Fro more info, post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: T.R.

What can be done when an employer uses a time management program so employees can see how much sick time, vacation time, etc. they have available and then says”Hey you were accuruing 8 hours of sick time each month instead of 4 hours and you were overpaid 16 hours of sick time which we are now deducting from this week’s check? Is this fair or my fault? What can I do and what do i need to do?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi T.R.!
That’s an excellent question! For a full answer, post it on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Tracey

If you are a saleried employee working 6 days and 70 hours a week. and employer is demanding more hours out of you is this legal in the right to work state of Arizona?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Tracey!
It might be legal. Salaried employees can be either exempt or non-exempt, depending upon their primary duties. An exempt employee is not entitled to overtime when he or she works more than 40 hours per week.

An employer can make any amount of hours mandatory, for any type of employee: salaried, exempt or non-exempt, or hourly. So, yes, the employer can require that this worker put in more than 70 hours per week. For more info, post your questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Denise

I work for a comany that pays bi-weekly, but since Thanksgiving they have paid us anywhere from 3-5 days late. This time we were supposed to get paid last Friday. On Tuesday they said they were working on it. It’s Friday and we did not get paid. The company does not respond to us or update us on when we will get paid. We manage 13 properties throughout the valley and we cant just walk out and leave the residents with no help but we fear that we are never going to get paid. If we walked off the job, thousands of residents would suffer from no emergency service. No maintenance. They owe every vendor in Phoenix so we can’t even call out a vendor. If we walk out do we risk not getting unemployment compensation? We have people that are hungry with no paycheck. They are losing their cars and getting utilities cut off, insurance premiums unpaid, no money for day care…you name it, we are in trouble. [employer name deleted]
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Denise! This is a violation of Arizona wage payment law. Under the law, employers must pay workers at least twice per month, no more than 16 days apart, and not more than 10 days after the payperiod ends.
Your best bet at this point is to send a written complaint to the State Labor Department, or to file a wage claim with the Industrial Commission of Arizona.
I have to be honest. This company is obviously having severe financial problems. It’s sweet that you don’t want to leave the residents in the lurch, but it is very likely that you and all the other employees will soon find that they have been working for free. Your time would be better spent looking for a job with a paycheck, than working for a company that cannot afford to pay you.
In many cases, when an employee leaves because the employer is breaking the law, the employee is eligible for unemployment compensation. For more info, post your questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: valerie

My employer has recently mandated that we wear specific uniforms. Is there any Arizona law that states that if this is the case a uniform allowance must be given?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Valerie! This issue is addressed under federal, not Arizona, law. Under the federal FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act, uniforms are for the employer’s benefit. If the employer requires the employee to wear a uniform, the cost of that uniform cannot reduce the employees wages below the federal minimum wage (currently $6.55 per hour.)

Read more about this at: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs16.pdf
HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Marie Hartley

I have worked for a Internationally owned Convenience store chain since September of 2007 northern Az. There are 4 stores in my town. I have several issues i would like to throw your way, and really hjope that you can help, or at least point me in the right direction.

In November of 2008 I was contacted by my store manager, while on vacation, and asked if i would mind transferring to another store in town, that a fellow associate was having problems with that manager and wanted out. He stated to me that I would get more work hours and would have a better chance at moving up in the company at that store because Corporate was not happy that the Assistant Manager happened to be the Store Mangers Son, and they were going to be moving him to another store due to conflict of interest. So I agreed to the transfer, even tho i knew at the time that several associates have had problem with that manager and have either quit, took a demotion, or transferred out of her store.

The first week I worked there I was scheduled to work Graveyard shift – alone(10pm-6am) on Monday Night, Then Swing shift (2pm-10pm) on tuesday, then Day shift (6am-2pm) on wednesday. Even tho I had senority over 3 of the other associates there. I went to my Previous manager and told him this is not what i signed up for. Myself, My former manager and the new manager had a meeting 2 days later and i told her I needed and wanted a straight that i had senority over other associates at the store and why was i scheduled like that. She stated she had to cover the hours in the store and that was the schedule and if i did nt like it there was the door. That she was the manager of the store and she cover the hours needed and was i going to run to Richard every time i had a problem. After that meeting, my hours were cut, my days off were different every week. We are required to be at work 10 minutes before our shift starts to count down our bank with the previous shift, but we are not allowed to clock in until the exact time we are scheduled to work, and if we worked past the end of our scheduled shift time, we were not allowed to clock at the time we left but at the time we were scheduled to leave. and if we did, we were told that we were “milking the clock”, and our hours the next week would be cut by the amount of overtime we had the week before.

My new manager would always bring up work issues in front of customers, other employees, whoever. never in private and never in a normal tone of voice, always to belittle you, make sure other employees knew she was having a problem with you, and make you miserable for the rest of your shift. She would always discuss issues she was having with an associate with anyone who was around. Let you know that if you didnt do it her way, you would pay.

I recently was contacted by the company payroll department to refile a new W-4 form for the 2009 year. I filed out the form and left it on my managers desk. The next day she brought the form out to the register area and informed me that i had signed it in the place and showed my fellow associate that i had signed it in the wrong place and asked her what am i supposed to do with this, she signd it in the wrong spot how dumb is that, see look she signed it in the wrong spot, what would you do with it? and then handed in back to me and informed me that she did not know who to tun the form into, and she couldnt do anything with it since i couldnt even sign it in the right spot, the whole time both myself and the other associate were waiting on customers. I filed out a 2nd W-4 form and made sure i signed it in the right spot, and left it on her desk once again, this happend to be my friday. when i returned to work after 2 days off, she again came out to the register area stood next to the other associate and stat4ed to me that she discussed my filing status with 2 local police officers and that i could not file exempt that it was against the law to claim exempt on my w-4 and i was breaking the law and she would not turn my w-4 form into payroll. I then said to her that it is not against the law to file exempt or they wouldnt give you the option and that it is only illegal if you do not file every week, but it is not required that you have federal taxes taken out of your check. and walked away from the register. Our comapny has a Confidentiality Policy and I am pretty sure she has definately violated it along with the Privacy Act.

Another situation, I was diagnosed with the staph infection, MRSA in November of 2007 and i became ill at work one night and called her to go home cause i couldnt finish my shift, she knew before this incident that i had MRSA. she eventually let me go home but not before i found someone else to come in and cover the rest of my shift. ( i have only called off 3 times and left work early 2 times since i was hired) 2 days later she came to me and said she discussed my illness with a customer, who happened to be a doctor here in town and infomed that i was contagious and that I was putting herself and my fellow associates in danger by coming to work everyday. And also went to other associates and asked them if they knew that i was sick and if they were afraid to work with me, because she was… another violation of Confidentiality. She then contacted my District Manager and informed him i was a “hazard” to the company. Since then i have had to prove to the company that i am safe to be around and any time i call off sick i have to have a doctors note stating that it is safe for me to be at work… The company policy is if you call off more then 3 days in a row you must have a dr’s note to return to work.

SOO. I wrote to the Director of Human Resources for our Region, filed sa formal complaint about my manager discussing my personal and private information with customers (w-4), and discriminating against me for Have MRSA, and discussing that with customers and fellow associates. So their solution to my complaint was to transfer me, yet again, to another store where i would have lthe least amount of contact with customers and associates. I work graveyard 2 nights a week, alone, and swing shift the other 2 days and the other associates leaves 5 hours before my shift ends, so I am working alone most of the time.. The sales at this store is significantly lower, due to the rural location, , so payroll hours are lower also. My hours were cut to 32 a week and again i am low man on the totem pole, even tho i have seniority over 3 of the other associates at this store.

Feel like my company is sweeping my complaint under the carpet, they stated to me that there would be an internal investigation, and would be interviewing other associates concerning the hostile work environment my previous manager created every day. No one has been interviewed, nothing was done to the manager, and i am the one that is being punished for complaining about her. It also states in my Companies policies that no retaliation would be allowed against anyone who has a valid complaint and that Harrassment would not be tolerated and the person who is doing the harrassment would be terminated immediately….

Sorry this has run on and on, but as you can see this is weighing heavy on my mind and stressing me out to the max.. Is there any thing i can do, anyone i should talk to, what are my options?.. Will not give them the satisfaction of quitting.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Marie!
Obviously this manager is clueless about the best practices in Human Resources, and the corporate HR department is foolish to put up with her. Your best bet is to look for a better job. There is no real solution for a poorly managed company — especially since most of what they are doing is lawful.
The only issue here that may be a violation of federal law is the manager at the second store not paying you for all the time you actually worked, including the extra 10 minutes you spent counting the drawer from the previous shift. If this continues to be the policy at your current store, you could report it to the U.S. Department of Labor or the Industrial Commission of Arizona.
The manager at the second store had very poor people skills — but you knew that before you allowed yourself to be transferred there. Unfortunately, there is no law that a manager must show respect for employees or use effective management techniques — and this one definitely did not.
There is no state or federal law that guarantees employee confidentiality on matters of discipline. Although the manager was wrong to demean you, and to discuss discipline problems in front of customers, she was not violating any law.
Actually, the manager may have been right about your W-4. Normally, any employee who earns more than $3,600 per year does not qualify for exempt status on the W-4. You could claim 12 dependents (on the W-4, not on your tax forms) but generally you should not be claiming you are exempt.
There is no law that employees with more senority must be given better schedules.
MRSA is a very, very serious type of infection that is usually incurable and can be life-threatening. It is understandable that the manager would be concerned about you spreading this very serious illness to customers and coworkers. The solution to transfer you to another store seems like a good one. If you feel you are being discriminated against due to this illness, you may want to contact the EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov.
We are sure that working for this manager was very unpleasant for you. But unless she was targeting you based on your sex, age (over 40), race, color, national ancestry, religion, pregnancy or disability, what she is doing is not harassment or discrimination. Sadly, it sounds as if this manager treats everyone in the same disrespectful way. If you have reported her conduct in writing to the company HR department more than once, and they choose not to do anything about it, there probably is not a solution to this problem as long as you remain employed with this company. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Marie Hartley

Amelia,

I do make less than 30,000 a year. last year 14,800 to be exact and I am aware of the tax regulations. The town i live in is a Recreational town and currently all the major corporations in town have laid off 20% of their workforce, and businesses that have been here for years and years are closing their doors, due to the depressin our economy is getting into. So I would love to look for a new job, but alas there are none in towm,

The reason i agreed to transferred is if i hadn’t they would have transferred me anyway. They were just being polite in asking first. And I had worked with this particular Manager years ago for another company, and I trained her for Management with that Company, and 6 weeks later she quit to take the current management position. We worked well together before and never had any problems, so thats another reason i accepted.

I am 44 years old and she prefers younger people to work for her. Most of the people I worked with at that location were an average of 10 years younger than me. With the exception of her. And it is in the companies Policies and Procedures, No Harrasment Policy and Confidentiality Policy and a Retaliation Policy. If they find that any of their employees treats any one in a hostile manner they will be terminated immediately.

The MRSA, I am not contagious, and i follow every Blood Pathongene, Hazmat rule that i am required to if not more.. It attacks my immune sytem, heart, lungs and liver. And will most likely shorten my life. This is got while i was employed with this company due to contact with a customer, that also had it but had not been treated for it.. Workers Comp would have paid but wasnt advised to file a claim until it was too late..Yrust me, i would never ever endanger anyone i work with or come in contact with, unless i have an outbreak, then i am contagious, if i dont get it treated right away. Everyone was well aware of what happened to me when it happened, all the Managers in town, including my Marketing Manager, were informed and were required to sanitize their stores thouroghly, and i was quarantined for 3 days.. Not like it was a surprise. I have worked for 6 Managers, and at 2 other stores in town.

It had never had it been an issue until i called her to go home early one night cause i was ill, then it was about my ability to do my duties and if i was going to be at 100 % all the time.. She told me i could go home but i better be at work tomorrow, or she will find someone to replace me, and if i did call off i was required to bring a Dr’s note to return. I know for a fact she does not require that from any other employee.

Like I stated in my previous letter. My attendance is great for an employee who has worked for them since Se[t of 2007, i have called off 3 times, 1 time a tooth ache, another time my car broke down in vegas, 3rd time the fleau, and i have gone home early twice cause i wasnt feeling good. I have since applied for an Intermittent FMLA so if i do have to call of it cant be used against me. And i wont have to get a Dr’s note every time. Is MRSA not covered under ADA laws?

Do I still not have a valid complaint? I did file a civil rights complaint with the state of arizona, should i not have done that?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Marie!

Thanks for claifying. Certainly, if you feel that your civil rights were violated, you were right to file the complaint. The state will investigate the complaint, and if they find it is justified, they will persue it.

In order for illegal discrimination or a civil rights violation to occur, the manager must be discriminating against you because of your race, color, religion, pregnancy, age, disability, sex, etc. If the manager is treating you poorly for another reason, then your civil rights are not being violated. It sounds like the only possible civil rights violation would be based on your age.

You were probably right to file for intermittent FMLA, assuming that the company has enough employees to qualify.

Many serious health conditions are not considered disabilities under ADA. Although the regulations changed on January 1, 2009 and the EEOC now interprets disability more broadly, it is not clear if your condition would qualify. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

PS On the exempt status, that was a salary of $3,600 per year, not $36,000 per year.
Posted by: Rose'

I currently work for a facility in Arizona that is managed under a corportation which has over 250 facilities throughout the United States.

What are the procedures in which a company can write an employee up? Is there a standardized precedure, or do the company polices rule in Arizona? Is there an order in which the write ups need to be in? Such as Verbal, 1st Written Warning, then 2nd Written Warning?

I was writen up on a 1st Written Warning on one topic/subject with out ever receiving a verbal and then writen up on a completly different topic/subject with a 2nd Written Warning as the designation. Is this legal and part of a standard procedure?

What should I do in regards to this?
Posted by: Rose'

I currently work for a facility in Arizona that is one of 250+ such facilities managed by a national corporation.

I received a “1st written warning” about one specific topic several months ago, with no prior training or verbal warning about the topic. I recently received a “2nd written warning” about a completely different topic, with the implication that it was a continuation of the earlier warning.

Is there any Arizona or Federal laws or regulations controlling disciplinary writeups, or can an employer basically do whatever they want? Isn’t there a standard verbal, 1st warning, 2nd warning process used universally?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Rose! There are no guidelines on disciplinary procedures under federal or Arizona law. This is basically a matter of company policy.
Some employers have well-defined disciplinary policies. Others permit their supervisors to use a lot of discreation in deciding what discipline is warrented under a particular situation.
Some employers always give verbal warnings before issuing a written warning. Others do not.
Usually a written warning is a first warning when it is the first violation of a specific rule — even if the employee has had other warnings before. But again, there is no law that requires this.
Sometimes when an employer wants to fire an employee, they will issue several warnings in rapid succession under a general topic such as “violation of company policy.”
As far as what to do, there is probably no way to have the written warnings overturned. You should make every effort to follow every company policy, because there is an excellent chance that you will be terminated after the next writeup. You may want to sit down with your supervisor and have a frank discussion with him or her, emphasizing that you want to remain on the job and will do your utmost to follow company policies. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Rose'

Well then, I guess if I do end up getting fired, they will just have to pay unemployment. It’s really bad sititution when you give 125% to your job, and no one appreciates it. And might I add, I did not sign the 2nd written warning.

Thank you for responding so quickly, I am going to have a meeting on friday with Integrity Services in regards to the 2nd written warning, and I am going to ask them, “On what grounds do you have to warrent this writeup?” I did not feel that it was right that I should be written up for doing my job, and I won’t be signing anything the day of my meeting. I will, how ever, ask for some additionial training. Cause obviously I need additionial training that was not provided to me. That way I will be sure to do my job correctly, to their standards. (lol)
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Rose!
Actually, written warnings still “count” even if the employee does not sign them. Signing a written warning is not admitting guilt — it is simply acknowledging that the supervisor had a conversation with you on this topic. You might actually be better off it you write “I do not agree with the statement on this written warning.” and sign it. But even then, the write-up still counts unless Integrity Services throws it out. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Mark Haggard

I have recently been laid off, I have an open case with workmens comp. My boss and human resources knew that I would more than likely be having surgery on my neck and be out a few weeks I am sure that finding a new employer at this point will be difficult knowing that I would need to leave early for Dr. appts. etc. Do I have any recourse
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Mark! Well, if you were laid off because you had an on-the-job injury, then that may have been wrongful termination. If you would have been laid off anyway, then there is probably no recourse.
You are under no obligation to disclose your open workers comp case or your medical condition during job interviews — and it is probably wise not to do so. Once you are actually working at a new job is the time to address time off for doctor’s appointments, etc. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Penny

Hi

My situation is complicated and involves my handicapped son, and another employee that works with him. My son’s handicap is mild retardation, and he is 29.

The situation began 4 years ago when this store (large retail store, known for abusing employees) opened. I was employed there and worked overnights as a cashier, when I left employment there I worked in thier accounting department. I hold a degree in accounting. When I transferred to the accounting department I soon discovered they were “cooking the books.” The supervisor in the department was the person doing this. She would come into the office which was locked in with an outer room and soundpoofed. She would call us degrading names and threaten us. Several of us who did not wan’t envolved with the cooking of the books went to the manager about it. At that point we discovered he was also involved in it. The office suddenly became active with several other upper office personnal helping this supervisor “fix” what had been done. I called the company’s ethics hotline, and found out this was a company joke. I spoke with a former professor from college, she contacted the corporate offices on my behalf, they never returned her call.

My son moved to Arizona a year and a half ago and went to work in maintence on over nights. After working for this company for over three years, I finally had enough, my son still works there. After I left the rumors started flying about me (common I know). The employee that started the rumors was one envolved with the “fix-up.” I should also mention that at this particular store promotions are on a who’s sleeping with who basis. So the rumor person is sleeping with my son’s manager, and he has stated that he would make my son pay because of me. I haven’t worked for the company in a year and do not shop there.

Last night my son purchased a cell phone, and DVD player, he lost the reciept. The cell phone he purchased was for another employee that he had dropped hers. When they were leaving this morning they were taken to the office by this manager and my son was accused of stealing the merchandise. My son explained about the reciept. No one bothered to check the tapes of the claimed transaction even though my son told them the time, the register, and the cashier. He used his dicount card to make the purchase. I having worked in the accounting department know they had several ways to verify the information. The manager said there was no record of the transaction. He then for over an hour threatened my son and his co-worker, telling them that my son needed to admit to the thieft (at which time both would have been terminated), or he would have both of them arrested and prosecuted for the thieft.

What can be done to stop this situation so that both can work without harrassessment until the time they can get transfers to another store?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Penny! Unfortunately, there probably is not a simple solution to this problem.
You say that the employer is “cooking the books.” That implies illegal conduct: they are either defrauding investors (or stockholders) by reporting false profits or they are defrauding the IRS by under-reporting profits. If this is true, our suggestion is that you report the company to the proper law enforcement agencies.
Sadly, it is not illegal for a supervisor to berate employees, even in a soundproof room.
In retrospect, it was probably not wise to get your son a job at such a troubled company, but we’re sure you’ve thought of that.
If your son is being victimized because he is disabled, that is illegal discrimination and you should report it to the EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov. If he is being victimized because he is related to you — a former employee — that is not illegal. We agree that your best bet is for him to transfer to another store, or find another job. You could also hire a lawyer and sue the store on your son’s behalf, since it sounds like he experienced pain and suffering from this investigation. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Anna

Hello
I was working in a residential substance abuse center and was terminated by the new, much younger supervisor who stated her new job was to clean up. Well two other women and myself over 60 and female were dismissed or cleaned out while the male counterparts kept their jobs. While working in that place I had to provide my own training material for clients, had to provide my own office furniture in order to do my job. After I was terminated I was not allowed to pack all my belongings and remove them from the premises. I had to wait 5 days and only part of my property was returned in dirty boxes. The following week I received another two boxes. All my personal papers and supervision records that were in my desk have not been returned to me.

Furthermore, I have found out that all my peers and co-workers, some who are also my friends have been forbidden to have any contact with me or they will lose their jobs. Is this legal to threaten my friends with their job if they talk to me even on their own time after work?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Anna! In this situation, you may have a case against the employer for discrimination based on age, sex or both. If you think so, file a complaint with the EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov.
Any “supervision” papers completed on company time with company materials belong to the employer. It is very unwise for employees to keep private papers and excess private possessions at work. Getting them back after termination is almost always an issue.
Obviously, it is not a best practice in HR to require that employees ostracize a former employee. While the employer can legitimately ban you from company property, they really cannot control what you do on your own time. Unfortunately, this manager sounds like an unreasonable person who would take revenge on your coworkers if she found them fraternizing with you. The only recourse there, would probably be to sue her. That would be expensive, with no guarantee that you would win. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Linda

Message

I manage a pharmacy here in Arizona and require that my employees provide a list of medications that they are taking both prescription and over-the counter medications. I also have them random drug test throughout the year. One of my employees today said that it was illegal to request a list of medications being taken by my staff.

Is it indeed illegal?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Linda! Yes, requiring employees to provide a list of all prescription and over-the-counter medications they take may very well be illegal discrimination. Under federal law, specifically ADA (and possibly HIPAA) you cannot require such information. If an employee is taking birth control pills, fertility drugs, medication for hypertension or an anti-inflammatory for arthritis, it is really none of your business. It could also be a sneaky way for an employer to discover, for example, which employees were HIV positive or had other chronic conditions. This information could be used to illegally discriminate against employees under ADA, and there is no legitimate reason for you to have it. The majority of these drugs are not screened for, in employment drug tests.
Your best bet would be to not ask employees for information on prescription drug use.
If an employee tests positive for drugs while at work, at that point you can require that the employee furnish a statement from their doctor, that they are taking a prescribed medication which would affect the test. The employee is not required to furnish you with the name of the drug, nor with infomation on what condition is being treated. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Fred

I just worked for a technical consulting company here in Phoenix. They hired me on as a consultant at an hourly wage. I was told that I would be hired full time so that I got more hours during a project that I just finished working.
From day one, their was hatred towards me being there in the office by other employees. I was told to not go over a certain amount of hours and watched very close. I was supposed to be the system administrator and install a 3rd party program. The client that we have the project work done at is in another state. Early on, there were plans to fly me out there to provide training for others. Weeks prior to me going to the client, the project mgr started cutting off my communications with the vendors. Right before I went to the client, she gave me a long list of things to accomplish. The things on the list normally take a week or so to complete. I was given 2 days and then my hours were cut back even further right befor I went. She kept asking me questions that I felt that were being used agaist me because she’s non technical. It appeared that it was non productive. She was gathering information to be used when they terminate me. Due to her aggressive nature, I almost walked out on the job 2 times. They convinced me to stay.
Then, once I setup all the systems, she booted me at the clients site. My access was cutoff. They made me look like I was an aggressive person and told security not to let me in the building. This is damaging my good reputation. It’s all preplanned drama by more than 2 individuals that I got myself into here. When they let me go, she wouldn’t return my property right away and said she would mail it. I demanded that they give it to me right then. Now, the owner who I suspect being in on this plan as well is saying for me not to contact anyone of his clients or employees or they will order a restraining order. The fact is that I’m calm and not causing any problems. They are making all this up. Does anyone know if a client terminates you without ordering the flight or transportation home, is this considered abandonment? I need some legal advise here. I’ve never had this kind of situation come up before. I’ve also learned from another employee that they have gone through many people previously in this same position that I was in. Since then, I turned in my keys and told them to back off. It appears that the owner & project manager are using me as an excuse for failure at the client & are falsely trying to make it look like I messed up their systems when in actuality I made them better than when I got there. need some legal help here. anybody?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Fred! Wow, this is a very unusual situation! It’s not clear from your post if you were an independent contractor (or consultant) or an actual employee of the company. Legally, it makes all the difference.
IT has changed a lot since the 1990s, as we’re sure you realize. IT pros were once given carte blanche to work as many hours as needed and spend as much money as needed, to complete the project. The business climate today is very different. The employer has every right to limit the number of hours that you work, and to question your productivity. In fact, any well-managed company will do so. Being able to communicate clearly with non-technical managers and supervisors is a survival skill — and so is maintaining cordial relations with coworkers and supervisors.
The situation that you describe, being escorted off the property with the owner threatening a restraining order is clearly extreme. The only thing that you can do at this point is chalk it up to a learning experience, by asking yourself what you did that may have contributed to this very negative situation. It is very difficult for someone to “make you look like an agressive person” without some help on your part.
There is no employment law concept of “abandonment.” Not providing you with transportation home is such outrageous behavior that we can’t help but think there is more to the story.
If you had a contract in place with the employer, then they may have violated it. Without a signed contract in place, while they may have acted rashly, it was probably lawful. You could certainly retain a lawyer, but it is not clear what grounds you would have to sue the employer. We suggest that you put this all behind you and focus on finding another job. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Jay

i was terminated for violating a 24 hour no call no show policy even though i contacted an employee at the location at 1am and my direct boss at 7:30 pm the following day by text message. the union contract does not specifically say that the contact has to be on the phone. the company appealed my unemployment benefits and a hearing before an ALJ was conducted. i won that hearing based on a few factors…
1. the company by not recognizing the text messages as a form of communication claimed that i quit or abandoned my job.
2. i was suspended pending investigation… no real investigation was ever conducted
3.another employee did the exact same thing i did and he is still employed
the union has filed a grievance on my behalf and as i understand it has been presented to the company… however since i was not a member of the union i am not sure just how hard they are fighting for me.

it is my opinion that i have a claim for discrimination as they affored others the same luxury but not me. i can prove the one instance but can not prove another. i have heard that arizona has some pretty lenient laws that favor the employer..any advise? my sister and her husband are attorneys and run a very successful practice but do not specialize in labor law and are both very busy. he represented me at the hearing and may be inclined to assist me going forward, however, i feel that i need to do the leg work.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jay! You may have a valid case for discrimination if the other employee who was not fired was of a different race, color, sex, religion, etc. from you. You could file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC. Even threatening to file the discrimination complaint may encourage the employer to see it your way. However, if you are both males of the same ethnic group, that is probably not discrimination. (The EEOC will not handle your discrimination case if you retain a lawyer before filing the complaint.)
If discrimination is not an issue, you could certainly file a wrongful termination suit based on the fact that the other employee was not terminated under similar circumstances. These suits are notoriously difficult to win.
Since you are related to two lawyers, you may want to take advantage of their free advice, which would be more personalized than you can get online. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: jay

Well to be honest I am not sure if I follow the logic. I assumed it was discrimination just based on the fact that we had both “not followed policy” or so what they considered policy, yet he was still emplyed and I am not. I guess it is good news for me as he is native american. I will certainly follow up with the free advice and I appreciate the quick response.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi jay! Yes, many people would make the same assumption. But, federal law only prohibits certain types of discrimination: based on race, color, religion, national origin, age (over 40), sex, pregnancy, and disability. Treating two white males differently would be a sort of discrimination — but not illegal discrimination. (Most people are surprised to learn that many types of discrimination are legal. For example, the employer has the right to discriminate between employees who do a good job, and those who don’t. Or between employees who come to work on time, and those who don’t. Only certain types of discrimination are illegal.) If the two situations were similar, and the employee of another ethnic group was not terminated, that may well be illegal discrimination. If you are reinstated, you may also want to consider joining the union. Unions can be a very powerful force to protect the employees rights. HTH, and thanks for reading the blog!~ Caitlin
Posted by: Fred

Ameilia,
Thanks for your response above. They set me up on a 1099 corp to corp employment arrangement. Yes, it was an unusual rare situation as I had not worked for this company very long or experienced a situation quite like this before. In my previous I.T. field career history, I’m given much respect by others that I worked with because of my advanced skillset. The best way to share knowledge works as a tradeoff in a perfect I.T. environment. People can learn much from others who have this kind of knowledge. It’s a bonus when people share knowledge easily with others. I also can speak from personal experience that I have learned much from very talented people while in the workfield. I think that part of the problem working for this company was the fact that a few others that were more in control of the team with the higher knowledge didn’t want to communicate much with me. It was like they acted like they knew everything there was to know already and were not very open to allowing me being the “new guy” to teach them things. It appeared to be an ego issue which was limiting their growth.

Honestly, I felt that this person that was in control of my project was purposely trying to cause me to react by doing many different kinds of annoying things. The fact that I worked a 16hr shift that day and then that person told me to continue to keep working right after I told em’ that we were both tired and should go rest, was a sign that something was wrong as well as wanting me to react in some way shape or form. Something from within tells me that they planned for me to look like I wasn’t doing the job correctly while at the client site. There’s probably more to the whole picture about what situation that I walked into and became a part of that I do not understand yet/nor wish to. It was very strange.

I’m moving forward & focusing in a positive direction and will take this whole thing as a learning experience as you stated. Energies need to be spent the right way to obtain the best possible productive results!
- Thanks for taking the time to assist here ! -
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Fred! Yes, it might very well be that you were “caught in the crossfire” on internal company politics, or politics between the employer and the client. Unfortunately, as a 1099 independent contractor, you are not an employee and therefore have none of the protections that federal or state employment laws provide. We applaud your decision to view it as a learning experience and move on. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sunny

If an employee does not come to work anymore because his salary payment is late (in AZ), is that legal? How should the employer handle this? By deducting vacation days, no pay, or just accept since he is in default?
Thank you very much for your help.
Posted by: Thom

I am wondering if it is legal for a company to wait to give me a final paycheck until i provide a letter of resignation. Since I have left there has only been contact through vm and the co. is saying I have to provide a letter of resignation to receive my only pc from them. I was with this small company for a very short time and am unsure if there is a relationship time frame i must deal with to receive my first and only pc from them.
Posted by: Susan

where do you go if an employer is refusing to pay wages due to a current employee?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Susan! In Arizona, file a wage complaint with the Industrial Commission of Arizona, and/or the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. It normally only takes one phone call from either of those agencies for the paycheck to appear, as if by magic! HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: jane

Hi, I am hoping someone can help me. As I am not sure what my son’s rights are (if any) regarding this matter. So, here’s the story. Eight weeks ago my son moved from Chandler Az to Tucson Az. He worked for a retailer in the mall. When he told them he was going to move, they said no problem that they would transfer him to a store at the mall in Tucson AND somebody had just quit so the timing was great. he was told to (by his district manager) to simply contact the store manager after he got there and she would put him on the schedule. He called her for two weeks with no return call. He then just showed up at the store in hopes of meeting her and he did. She said I wont have any hours to give you for about a week but after that she will put him on the schedule. He is young and just thanked her for her time and said yes please call to let him know when he would start. That has now been four weeks ago. He called the DM again and she said she would call the manager but we have not heard from them. My son was hired at full time status and had health insurance. If his company could not transfer him he would waited until he could. He now, has no money, no health insurance and is being evicted. I feel this company has harmed him and I would like to know if they violated any laws in the state of Arizona. I manage a large retail store myself and I know that I have to provide enough hours for my full time status employees to receive their insurance if I cannot do that then I must terminate so they are free to collect unemployment and any other benefits they might qualify for. This company has none of those things and really made it to where he doesn’t even really know if he has a job or not. I should mention, he did speak with the DM a couple of weeks ago to tell her how desperate the situation has become, she said would take care of it and call him back and of course she has not. Thank you for listening, I know this was a long one!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi jane! Well, we can clear up one thing for you: your son does not have a job. This is a tough situation and we have empathy for his plight. As you have no doubt noticed by now, some retail companies are very professional and treat their employees well…and some do not. Your son was working for one that did not.
When he told his manager he was moving to Tucson and quit showing up in Chalndler, the manager very correctly assumed that your son quit.
Despite the District Manager’s assurances, the company is not obligated to give him a job in Tucson. Because he quit, he does not qualify for a COBRA subsidy, although he may qualify for COBRA continued health insurance coverage.
We really can’t fault your son for this situation — he has been treated badly. Unfortunately, the employer has not broken any Arizona or federal law. Ideally, your son would have at least spoken to the Tucson manager by phone, before moving, but that is water under the bridge.
Unfortunately, companies like yours are rare. There is no legal requirement that the company give a worker full time hours or lay them off. Even employees with benefits can have their hours reduced until they no longer qualify for health insurance.
Your son’s best bet now is to look for another job. Obviously, the Tucson store manager has no intention of hiring him.
Your son could hire a lawyer to sue the District Manager, but we are pretty sure that he would lose. Sorry, wish we could offer more help. ~ Amelia
Posted by: George Modene

Hi there i have a question, I was working for a Homehealth agency as a caregiver, i was not an employee as i was signed on as an independent contractor. 5 months later they promoted me to Tucson Area Manager and made an employee, one onth later I was fired and still have not gotten paid for my last check, I heard that employers must pay the last check within 72 hours of termination is this true?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi George! Not exactly. When an Arizona employee is fired, the employee must receive the final paycheck within 3 of the emloyee’s working days, or on the next regular payday — whichever comes first. If the employee quits, he or she can be paid on the next scheduled payday. If that date has passed and you have not been paid, file a wage complaint with the Industrial Commission of Arizona. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: lily

hi there, i have a question, my boyfriend had working with this man ,since 2004 with out legal papers, this man is an independent contractor,he supost to get pay weekly, never pays him on time, i dont know my boyfriends rights. he pays him cash ,no health insurance and he stop him from working 3 months then my boyfriend called asking him when he is going to work againg then he say ,ill call you but he never return the call , then he finaly gave him 2 more weeks, he pays him only 1 week and he still owns him 1 more week its been a month now my boyfriend been calling every day and he keeps saying next week ,next week, and nothing, what can we do about IT??? thanks for reading such as mess ill apreciate very much your help
Posted by: Amelia

Hi lily! It sounds like your boyfriend is working “under the table”, meaning he is illegally working for an employer who pays in cash, does not withhold Social Security or taxes, and does not pay workers’ comp or unemployment insurance . Unfortunately, when an employee knowingly does something illegal like this, there is little protection. Under the law, the employer should pay your boyfriend the money owed to him. Your boyfriend can certainly file a wage complaint with the Industrial Commission of Arizona. But the employer will probably say that he never heard of your boyfriend, and it is going to be difficult for you to prove otherwise. The best thing for your boyfriend to do is to look for a legitimate job. HTH, and thanks for reading the blog!~ Amelia
Posted by: Robert

I wanted to know . My Employer says, they have the right to edit my hours after clocking in for work. To arrange hours in other areas of the store. Because of the system they are doing with the company. So, the management team won’t get a bad percentage on their score card.
Example: I work 8 hrs in meat dept. But , they go back and put 4 0r more hours in another dept to even it out the score card. They told me it is legal
to do this without my permission. And some employees notice time missing.But put back when get caught. But some employees may not know this is happening. They do this later after that day of work is finished.
Plz, your thoughts on this matter? thx
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Robert! We don’t see anything unethical or unusual in this practice.

This is legal as long as the employee gets paid the promised wage for all hours worked. In fact, it is very common in a number of industries. In a grocery store, for example, the budget handed down from corporate might call for 10 hours in the produce department and 6 hours in the meat department in one day, based on the level of business. The manager has two employees each working 8 hours. So the manager codes two hours from the meat dept. employee’s time to the produce department. This is just an internal procedure that allows the store to stay within budgeted hours, and has no adverse effect on the employees. Management does not need your permission to do this. (And really, why would you care whether your time came from the budgeted hours for the meat department or the budgeted hours for the produce department?)

If the manager did not do this, he or she would have to send the meat dept. employee home after 6 hours and have a produce employee come in to work a 2-hour shift. Can you see how silly that would be??

However, it would be unlawful if the employer simply deducted 2 hours from an employees time and the employee was not paid for all the time he or she worked. The employee’s hours should remain the same, and their work times should remain the same. In other words, if you clocked in at 8:06 and clocked out at 4:15, that should remain the same. The total number of hours worked and the hourly hourly wage should remain the same.

If you or another employee finds that you have not been paid for all the hours worked, you should point out the error and expect it to be paid on the next paycheck. However, we doubt that the managers are trying to cheat the employees. It’s just that from time to time, when coding hours, they make a mistake. But this is a very normal part of the manager’s job in many industries. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: Karen

I was working for a company recently and was also renting a house from the same person (boss/landlord)…. when my employment was terminated they have refused to pay me my last paycheck. They claim I was a month behind on my rent. How can I stop them from with holding my last paycheck?
Posted by: jay a reed

12/3/2008 I was laid off at 60 years old and three others were not. the other three had less time in the co than i do and thay were much younger than i am.is their anything i can do?

jay a reed
Posted by: Amelia

Hi jay! That depends. When layoffs occur, there is no law or general rule that employers must keep the employee with the most seniority, and lay off those who were more recently hired. It is up to the employer to establish the criteria for which employees they will keep. In some cases, it is based on performance evaluations or an objective test of skills. In other cases, frankly, the employer decides that if they are going to lay off one employee, they save the most money by laying off the employee with the highest salary. This is a perfectly legitimate business decision.
In some cases, a union contract or other written agreement will specify who is to be laid off.
However, if this decision was based on age, that is illegal discrimination. The ADEA, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, prohibits discrimination against employees who are between 40 and 70. If you feel this is the case, you can lodge a complaint with the EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov. They will investigate the complaint for you to determine if you have a case. The EEOC reports that valid complaints of age discrimination were at new highs in 2008, and are expected to be even higher in 2009. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Bob

my question is in the state of arizona,can an employer cancel paying my vacation pay 1 week before my scheduled vacation? i have worked at the same place for 6 years but new owners took over 1 year ago,so offically i have worked for the year..thank you for taking the time to anwser..
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Bob! This is a raw deal but it is lawful. Unfortunately, the new owners can set the vacation policy, and they can change it whenever they like. As long as they are not singling you out based on race, color, religion, sex, etc. it is lawful. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: doreen

my husband and son both work at the same company. several times the owner has been late in sending payment to all the workers. It has put almost all the workers in a jam. theres always excuse after excuse. when they were hired, they were told that paydays are the fifth and twentieth of each month. so bills were arranged to be paid on those days. they were told that if payday fell on a saturday the checks would be there the fri before. if on sunday, the monday after. well the checks are again late. we were told that the accountant was bringing the checks from utah to arizona yesterday. well she apparently never showed, they usually send the checks via ups or fedEx. now they are saying the checks wont be there til two pm which we find is a long shot even then. Son was supposed to pay his vehicle payment yesterday, and we were to pay on this computer plus our rent yesterday. being believing the checks were supposed to be there yesterday. they said last nite they would be dispersed first thing this morning. well hubby called and they said two pm. last pay day, hubby only recieved 1/2 his pay, then had to way three days to get the other half. they’ve done this quite often and more so lately. what can he do>? we are on the verge of lsoing our place of living and our computer, son is on verge of losing his tv and vehicle, both of which payments are being made. cuz the company keeps doing this. the places being paid are tired of the excuses and lies. what can be done?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi doreen! This is not a good situation, as we are sure you know. Of course the story about the accountant driving from Utah to Arizona with the paychecks is pure hogwash. The employer is having severe cash flow problems and does not have the money in the bank to make payroll. That’s why he is holding the paychecks until after the banks close at 2 pm.
Needless to say, an ethical and responsible employer does not act this way. Unfortunately, when an employer starts pulling stunts like this, they usually go out of business. If that happens, and they owe employees for back pay, the employees may never collect.
Both federal and Arizona law require that employers pay workers. Under Arizona law, an employer must pay workers at least twice monthly, and must pay wages in full within 5 days of the end of the pay period. The next time the employer fails to meet this standard, you should report them to the Industrial Commission of Arizona. They will investigate and if the employer fails to comply, they will prosecute. (Almost all employers comply once the ICA gets involved.)
The bigger problem is that there is a good chance that both your huband and son will be out of work within a few months. They should begin looking for a different job now. They should also use any vacation time they may have, for the job hunt. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Doug

I am currently working as an employee for let’s say Company A who then contracts me to Company B. Then Company B in turn contracts me to Company C. Since I have been hired I have only had contact with Company C who talks with me frequently about the renewal of my contracts and so on. I am currently on my fourth – six month contract. So in March of 09 when my contract was to be renewed, Company C told me that the budget has been allocated and everything is fine with the renewal of my contract. Recently, Company A proceeded to tell me that as of Aug 1st, I will receive a 1/3 pay cut. This type of pay cut will not make it possible for me to stay employed with company A, B or C any longer. But due to the responsibilities that Company C has given to me, they must have the opportunity to react in order to stop me from leaving… however Company A and B both told me point blank that if I mentioned anything to Company C with regard to a pay cut I would be terminated immediately. Is this legal? What are my rights and who should I contact?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Doug! Unfortunately, yes, this is probably legal. By disclosing your salary, you would be sharing Company A’s private financial information with Company C. The real question here is: do you want to remain with company A under these circumstances? Or do you want to take your chances in what is admittedly a very difficult employment market? If you were no longer working for Company A, would Company C hire you? It also may depend upon whether or not you have a non-compete contract in place and how hard it is going to be for Company A, B or C to replace you.
Your choices are: a) Keep your mouth shut, accept the 1/3 pay cut and keep working at company C
b) Quit instead of accepting the pay cut and collect unemployment while you look for another job (assuming that you truly are an employee and not an independent contractor.) Be aware that if you work under the new salary at all, you have accepted it.
c) Mention the paycut to someone at Company C and cross your fingers that you won’t get fired, or that if you do Company C will hire you. You could certainly tell someone at Company C how much you would like to continue to work there, but that the new payment structure just makes it impossible, and let them figure it out.
We agree that this situation sucks. Many people are accepting salary decreases, but a 33% cut is a lot. Can the employer really fire you for talking about your salary to Company C? Yes, they can. So what you do really depends upon your goals here. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Jackie

Hello,

I have several issues and questions

I was hired at a full time salaried position. After working about 3 weeks, i got sick and took the day off. The next week was a holiday week. I asked my supervisor if i could work one of the days the following week, which would have made up for the day i missed and made it 40 hours plus the 8 hours for the holiday. I was told no they dont allow that. Now, the week after the holiday another employee got just that. on the week of the holiday she worked the 40 hours and got the 8 hours holiday. She got an extra day off the week AFTER the holiday. I was just wondering if that is legal or is it favortisium?

Keep in mind, i was hired as a salaried employee….

Next scenero, When i missed that day at work, they did not pay me for it, which i was fine with. Until, They expected me to work more than my scheduled hours in a day, and not pay me for it. ie.. scheduled hours 10/day and i worked 15/day, but only got paid for the 10 hours. I was not given an opportunity to make the missed day up, they said. “you are salary, and the expectation is to work till the job is done.” Can they legally do these things?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jackie!
Actually, it appears to us that you are being correctly treated as a salaried exempt employee.
Under both federal and Arizona law, an employer must pay the exempt worker the same salary each week, regardless of the number of hours that she works. However, there is a special exception to that rule that permits the employer to withhold a day’s salary, under some circumstances, if the employee is sick and misses an entire day of work. Only employers who offer a legitimate paid sick leave program can do this. Our best guess is that your employer does offer sick leave — but you had not been there long enough to be paid for your sick day. So the employer was correct in paying you 4/5 of your usual salary that week.
(If you had worked a few hours that day and then gone home sick, you would be entitled to payment of your full week’s salary. But since you missed the entire day, the employer can dock your pay for one day.)
They were also right in not allowing you to work a day the following week. Exempt employees are paid the same salary regardless of how many hours or days they work within the payroll week. So they would owe you the same salary for that week whether you worked 4, 5, 6 or 7 days that week (as long as you worked every day you were scheduled, and did not call in sick any days.) You seem to assume that if you worked 4 days one week (with one sick day) and 5 or 6 days the next week, that evens out. But it doesn’t. You will still be due 4/5 of your salary for the first week, and your usual weekly salary for the second week.
Exempt employees are never entitled to overtime, even if they work 100 or more hours per week, every week. Nor are they entitled to take time off to compensate. The whole concept of a 40-hour work week does not apply to exempt employees, from a legal perspective.
Finally, the favoritism issue…yes, this was favoritism and yes, it is legal. Although some companies have policies forbidding favoritism, most do not. There is no law against favoritism. Discrimination is illegal only if it is based on race, color, religion, age (between 40 and 70), sex, pregnancy, disability or genetic information. But discriminating against an employee who is new, or favoring one who has done an excellent job in the past, is not illegal.
In fact, there may be a legitimate reason why the employer permitted this other worker to take an extra day off the following week. She may have volunteered to fill in when they needed her during the holiday week. In that case, the change was for the employer’s conveniance, not the employee’s. Or, they may be giving her preferrential treatment because she is a long-term, valued employee who does an excellent job.
But as far as we can tell, everything you describe is lawful and even good management. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Jackie

Hey there,

I just have one issue with your answer to me. How can favoritism be good management? I can understand the salary issue, but favoritism is never good management.

Thx
Posted by: Steve Austin

After 7 months I think that my old company is going to offer to hire me back through my union. However, I think they are not going to offer the back pay, just the job. I am not interested if that is the case and would rather pursue a suit against the company. But I want that offer on paper and keep it so that I can use it against them should this ever go to trial. It is my feeling if they finally make the offer after all this time then they are admitting that I should never have been terminated in the first place. My termination had nothing to do with ethics, fraud or anything of that nature. I supposedly violated company policy. So as I view it ( and I certainly am biased) I either violated it or I didnt and in my opinion they should have to pay the consequences of their actions. This same conclusion could have been made by them within the first month ( all the evidence was there) but they did not consider my resolve. The consequences for me have been 6 months of unemployment after I had to fight them for that through a DES hearing before an ALJ.

What a web we weave when at first we try to deceive !!

Any advise would be helpful. I know the smart play is to take the job back so the health benefits are reinstated, however, my wife now has qualified our family with benefits through her company.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jackie! You might very well be right. We are making different assumptions. We are assuming that the long-term employee is being treated differently because of her excellent performance and perhaps because she is willing to work whenever they need her. Treating excellent employees better than unproven employees is often good management.
However, if she is being treated better than other employees for reasons unrelated to her job performance, then you are right. That type of favoritism is not good management. But it is still legal, unfortunately. Cheers!~ Amelia
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Steve! You definitely have a decision to make. But we’d like to offer a slightly different point of view.
It sounds like you feel you were wrongfully terminated. If that is the case, you should probably hire an attorney and pursue a wrongful termination case against the employer. If you win the lawsuit, you would most likely be reinstated with back pay. If you have a strong case, some attorneys will accept it without any payment up front. If they all demand payment in advance, your case is weak and we would not advise pursuing it.
However, be aware that in Arizona as in most states, the “employment at will” doctrine prevails. This means any employer can fire any worker at any time, with or without notice, for any reason or without any reason. (The employee also has the right to quit his or her job at any time, with or without notice, for any reason or without a reason.) It sounds like the termination may have fallen within the at-will category.
If this was an at-will termination, it would be foolish to expect the employer to offer back pay for the past 7 months. After all, employers pay people for the work they do. You did not perform any work for the company during the past 7 months. So how can they justify paying you?
Unfortunately, the offer of employment is not an admission of guilt. Many, many companies terminate employees for fairly minor reasons like violating policies and at some point decide to take the employee back. That doesn’t mean the employee is innocent — it just means the employer believes in second chances.
If you are still collecting unemployment, it will run out in a month or so. This is a really, really bad time to be looking for a job. So your options are to sit at home and try to live on your wife’s salary…or go back to work for the old employer. Our advice would be to go back to work for the employer, and continue to look for a different or better job. (And perhaps continue to pursue a wrongful termination suit.) HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Steve Austin

Thanks for the advice….. Back in Febuary I was advised to file an EEOC complaint which I finally did about 3 weeks ago. It was soon after that the union saw a complete change in the companys attitude. If they believed in second chances then I would have been back to work in a few weeks. I have an attorney but can not pursue a case until after the EEOC case if complete. The company was surprised when I had my attorney appear with me at the DES hearing. That should have been their first warning that I was serious. We brought them to their knees at that hearing and I was surprised they did not cave then. I think they are getting the message. My termination was not done in haste. They took 4 days to make a decision. They made a mistake and just as I have suffered so should they, one way or another.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Steve! Yes, if you filed an EEOC complaint you should see that process through. If this job offer was immediately after that, then you probably have a good case. (and it would have been a good thing to mention in your original post.) Often filing an EEOC complaint captures the company’s attention in a way that simply griping does not. You should consult with your attorney or the EEOC on whether to accept this job offer or not, but we can understand why you would not.
We have never heard anyone refer to being awarded unemployment benefits as “bringing the company to their knees” before, but if that’s how you see it, great. The next logical step probably would have been for you to file a wrongful termination case at that point.
A word to the wise — companies don’t suffer. Nothing you can do to them will case the same pain that you have felt. (Partly because for them it’s just a small part of their business, but for you it’s your whole life.) So that may not be a reasonable goal. Companies do learn. If your goal is to be reinstated to your job, and be awarded back pay, that’s reasonable. Expecting the company to learn from this mistake and not do the same thing to other employees in the future, is reasonable. They may also learn not to mess with you. But expecting them to “suffer”…not so much. Best of luck to you! ~ Amelia
Posted by: CJ

I work for a small private utility company and for seven years now I have been made to go to the owners house and do chores like yard maintance, electrical, floortile, asphaltt, ect. As time goes on thier seems to be more and more to do at his home. The utility pays my wages but I want to work at the utility not at his house doing god knows what. When I was interviewed thier was no mention of this house work. When I have told the owner that I dont think this is right I get a” you can hit the road ” type of answer. These chores are driving me crazy! Is this legal or unethical or should I quit crying and go back to work.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi CJ! This is certainly unethical — but it may not be illegal. If the utility is privately owned, then the owner can have you do pretty much anything that he wants. It’s his money, and he is simply treating his home repairs as a business expense. You could try doing a poor job of the home repairs, but then he might fire you.
If the utility company is owned by stockholders or with partners, then they are being ripped off. You could send an anonymous letter to them suggesting that they audit the books or check up on the owner’s activities.
Unfortunately, many, many people get away with this type of unethical conduct. You are right to be concerned. For one thing, if you are injured at the employer’s home, you may not be covered under workers’ comp. But if the company is privately owned, the best you can do is probably search for another job. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Mattie

Hello, Amelia. I have a question regarding a friend of mine. It starts with her getting hurt at work, and being on workman’s comp. for 2 months. When she was released back to work fulltime, she all of a sudden started getting written up. She had never been written up previously, and had been employed for a year and a half. Now, she just recently she became very ill, and missed several days from work. She went to the doctor, and he gave her a note stating she couldn’t work for 3 days. When she called her boss on the day she was to return to work, he boss told her to bring in her equipment, she would have her last check waiting for her and she was being let go. Its just that, this all sounds very suspicious considering she had just come off workmans comp. Now, I know that Arizona is a right to work state and an employee can be terminated at any time and for no reason, but my question is can you leagally be terminated because of an illness.

Thanks,
Mattie
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Mattie! This may be legal.
First of all, many people make this mistake but “right to work” means you cannot be required to join a union, in order to get a job. “Employment at will” means the employer can fire any work at any time, with or without a reason and with or without notice.
However, it is illegal to retaliate against an employee who has a workers comp claim. Our suggestion is that your friend contact the Arizona Workers Comp Ombudsman about this.
If this is not illegal retaliation, then yes, the employer can fire an employee for missing too much time from work — even if the absence was due to an illness. (If the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles, and your friend had a serious health condition, then she might be entitled to unpaid leave under FMLA. But many illnesses such as the flu are not covered by FMLA — and it does not apply to smaller companies.) If you friend thinks that her work-related injury was a factor in her termination, then she can certainly see a lawyer and file a lawsuit for wrongful termination. But it is by no means a sure thing. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Mitchell

I work as a server in a restaurant. I went from working 36 hours a week to just 12. I did not change my availability at all and even stated I am open to work any time. My general manager told me that my hours being cut was not a disciplinary action but because there isn’t enough business to have me on the floor. However, he still schedules other people in my old shift. I was given back more hours, but it was only because other people had requested time off and I am once again only working two days a week. None of the managing staff has once talked to me about my performance. Should I report this to the labor board, and if so, what is the best way of going about doing it?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Mitchell! There is really nothing to report to the labor board. An employer can reduce an employee’s schedule at will. If this action is taken based on your race, color, sex, age (between 40 and 70), pregnancy, disability, religion, or national ancestry then it is illegal discrimination. If the management is doing this simply because they don’t like you, or think you don’t do a good job, that is perfectly legal.
Employees whose schedules are severely reduced are entitled to unemployment benefits, even if they are still working part-time. Our suggestion is that you apply for unemployment because you were working 36 horus per week and are now working just 12.
At the same time, you may want to have a frank, tactful discussion about your performance with a manager. Choose the manager you have the best rapport with, and a time that is not busy. Ask the manager if there is anything that you can do to improve your performance, and if they have any concerns they. As an employee, you bear as much responsibility for communication as the manager does. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Peggy

I work for a physician. I was the office manager of this clinic for 4 years prior to this physician assuming the practice. When the new physician took over he verbally told myselt and the other 2 employees that our job titles would remain the same as long as our benefits and we would remain full time employees working the same hours that we have been accustomed to working. We were verbally promised sick time, vacation, and medical benefits. 3 months after the physician took over, he got married. His wife came into the office 2 weeks later and gave us notes stating that she would be running the office now and that we would all be answering to her. She never speaks to us directly but leaves us notes with our paychecks telling us of policy changes that are effective immediately. She screams at us as well as screams at the doctor in the office. Can this be considered harrassment and what can we do about it
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Peggy! This is poor management, but because she treats everyone that way, there is no illegal discrimination here. There is no blanket category of “harassment” at work. The illegal activity is sexual harassment, meaning an employee is subjected to repeated advances, taunts, unwanted attention or negative behavior due to his or her gender. This is not sexual harassment. The doctor’s wife sounds like a shrew, but that is not illegal.

An employer generally makes the rules within the workplace, and the employer can change them at will, without the employee’s permission. In this case, you are being informed of the policy changes in writing.

What you can do about this is look for a better job. Sorry, but even if you complain to the doctor, he is more likely to fire the complaining employees than divorce his wife. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Peggy

Our employer’s wife is now doing all the payroll. She loaded all the Quickbooks Information onto her laptop. She uses this laptop for her school and all of her personal business as well as work. She carries this laptop with her when she flies out of state. She takes it with her on out of town trips as well, not to mention carries it back and forth from her house to office daily. We have mentioned to her that we don’t feel comfortable with her carrying all of our personal information, (SS#, bank account, address, birth date, etc.) We were told that it was none of our business where she takes her computer. We asked that she keep the information in a secure location but again we were told that it was not our business. What responsitibility do employers have to their employees to see that their personal information is protected?
Posted by: Steve Austin

OK I have come to you before and I have had great advise and I am here again cause I just dont understand something. I will do a quick review…

on 1-12-09 I was terminated for “violating company policy with a no call no show” because I sent a text message instead of calling. that is the exact reason on my term papers… then in my DES hearing when they challenged my UI benefits they claimed that sending a text is not acceptable ( even though the union contract does not specify how the contact is to be made) …
ok so the very next night after i “violated” the policy with a text a member of my night team sent me a text telling me he was not coming to work… i was off that night ( he was not aware of that) and did not get the message until the next morning… i found out that he never made any other contact… so we both committed the same violation that was supposedly against policy yet he is still employed… and i am not…. earlier you had told me that i may have an eeoc case if he is of a different ethnic group which he is… i did file my charge with the eeoc and have my interview next week… but i wonder… with this “at will ” employment…do they have the right to do that? lets forget the fact that the other employee is of different ethninticity…. if we were both the same….. would i have any other remedy…. i just find it hard to believe that the only thing i have to hang my hat on here is if the eeoc will declare that is was discrimination….. is there nothing else that they may have violated? the other employee gave me a signed statement that he did in fact send a text message to call in sick.. my employer was given that statement prior to our DES hearing back on 4-7-09…. i feel that they had the chance once they received that statement to investigate and then “make things right” but they have clearly not taken advantage…. in May the company met with the union again and again they were given this statement… the head of HR just happened to be in that meeting…. she claimed that she had never seen the statement and said they would investigate further…. but still decided not to reinstate …. the latest movement was the company requested my text message logs from the past year…after a fight with verizon i got them… part of my contention was that the boss and i had many forms of communication and text was one of them…. so if we could communicate by text for other things, why not this situation… there were 40 seperate texts between us ( all regards to work) in a 4 month period…. with him initiating the very first text… i think that proves what i was saying.. but it has been 2 weeks now and they have not “gotten back” with the union about the text message logs… ok … i rambled on… back to my question… is this really part of the “at will ” employment and do they have the right to do something so blatant? and get away with it? i was considered the night manager ( but still covered under the CB agreement) while he was just a clerk.
thanks
Posted by: Peggy

Today our boss and his wife had a meeting with two of us. There are only 3 employees in the practice. The wife screamed and yelled at us. The boss told us that we were very easily replaceable with younger less experienced girls who would not question what they are doing.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Steve! Okay, here’s the thing. The employer makes the policies regarding call-ins (and most other workplace issues.) So the fact that you have had text conversations with you supervisor on other occasions, about other topics, does not change anything. Unless the employer specifically has a policy in place that calling in by text message is okay, then you are pretty much out of luck. The employer can terminate you for not reporting properly when absent — and the employer gets to determine what “properly” is.
If the employer made this decision based on race or ethnic group, that is illegal discrimination. But if it was based on another factor, then the decision was lawful.
It is reasonable for the employer to expect a night manager to be more responsible than a clerk. So it would be reasonable to terminate you for one no call/no show but retain the clerk (perhaps with a written warning.)
The action taken also depends upon the employee’s past record. If you have been written up for other infractions, or have less than stellar performance, then the employer can terminate you for that reason. If the clerk has not had previous discipline problems, then they can keep him for that reason.
It is possible that you could hire an attorney and file a lawsuit against the company for wrongful termination. But frankly, we would be surprised if you won.
You have a very powerful ally on your side in the union. If the union can’t win this case, it is doubtful that an attorney will.
Frankly, your time would probably be better spent looking for a new job, rather than filing a lawsuit if the union does not get your job back for you. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Peggy! That’s a bad situation, but it doesn’t surprise us, given what you’ve already said about the situation.
Frankly, the laptop is a non-issue. 99% of employers process payroll by computer, and many of those computers are laptops. Laptops are just as secure as a desktop computer. There is no reason to believe that even if someone stole the laptop, he or she would know the passwords to access your payroll information.
A few states have laws that would prohibit the employer from sharing your social security number with others. But no state prevents an employer from having payroll on a laptop, or from taking the payroll laptop out of state. There is no law that prohibits the employer from doing payroll on a laptop that they also use for school or other tasks.
Millions of business executives travel with their laptops every day. The majority of those computers have payroll or sensitive financial information on them.
Unless your employer is the CIA, people who steal laptops are interested in reselling the computer. They aren’t interested in your private information on the computer, even if they could access it. Frankly, over-reacting to this issue makes you and your coworkers seem…not entirely rational.
However, the meeting is a different situation. If you or the other employees are between the age of 40 and 70, the boss’s statements that you are very easily replaced with younger employees may be illegal discrimination based on age. Unfortunately, because the employer is so small, they are not covered by federal anti-discrimination laws. It is not clear if they are covered by Arizona non-discrimination law or not. YOu may want to contact them at http://www.azag.gov to find out. Otherwise, there is a new sheriff in town, and the quicker you and your coworkers adjust, the happier you will be. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Vilma

I work at [employer name deledted] in Tucson, Sports Bar deal, I am a server and I was wondering if it is illegal for us to pay a walk-out tab? Since it’s a sports bar and we are rather busy with more than 50 people at a time, some people do get to slip away and run for it. I have had to pay $50 dollars out of my own money for a walk-out, and still have to claim full amount + those 50 dollars. I just dont understand how this works. If it is state law that we cannot buy drinks for our guests/customers, why do we have to pay out of pocket when they leave without paying their bill???Is’nt it the same thing? I have had other staff members go through this till the day, and its rough now at days because economy is so low that monday-friday we barely even make 30 dollars, and if we get a walk out we are screwed and walk out with nothing. Please help!!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Vilma! This is a grey area under Arizona law. The employer can certainly ask you to voluntarily pay the tab when a guest walks out. And you can certainly decline. In many states, at that point, the employer cannot legally deduct the amount of the tab from your payroll check. However, it appears that Arizona offers employees no such protection. (We will note that Arizona offers less protection to tipped workers than almost any other state.)
Unfortunately, if you refuse to pay the tab for the walk-out, the employer can discipline or terminate you. So you are “voluntarily” paying the tab to ensure that no disciplinary action is taken.
You could certainly refuse to pay the tab and see what happens, but you might lose your job. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sonia Cobian

Is a break an obligation after 4 hours working straigth in Arizona?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sonia! No, Arizona has no rest break or meal break law.
There is no federal law that requires employers in general industry to give meal breaks or rest breaks to workers. (There are federal regulations that require breaks for employees in a few industries, such as interstate truck drivers and airline pilots.)
Nineteen US states have laws that require meal breaks for almost every employee. Eight of those states have laws that require rest breaks for some or all employees: California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Arizona does not have any break law at all. It is lawful for the employer to require an Arizona employee to work 16 or more hours without any break to rest or eat a meal. However, OSHA worker safety regulations require that the employee be allowed to use the toilet when nature calls. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: robert

my wife worked for [employer name deleted], a major hotel in mesa Arizona as a maid when she didnt feel good and told her boss she wanted to go home from not feeling well her boss told her to get back to work..
the second time a few weeks later when she didnt feel good her boss told her to finish her work if she wanted a job my wife went home.. a couple days later when she showed up for work they said she qiut that they didnt fire her.
is there a law to protect the worker from people like that..
Posted by: Amelia

Hi robert! No, unfortunately the law offers very little protection in a case like this. An employer can legally terminate any employee, at any time, for any reason or without any reason in Arizona and most other states. This is called “employment at will.”

We agree that it was unreasonable for the employer not to allow your wife to go home when she was sick. Unfortunately, there is no law against it. Most hotels (and most employers) have rules about when an employee must report an absence. For example, a hotel may require that employees call in an hour or three hours before the scheduled shift, if they will be absent. You do not mention your wife calling in on the subsequent days that she was absent, after she went home sick. Most employers assume that if an employee is no call/no show for one or more days, the employee has quit.

Nevertheless, if your wife was too ill to go to work, she may qualify for unemployment benefits.

If your wife believes that she was treated differently from other employees due to her sex, race, color, religion, age (between 40 and 70), etc. Then she may have a case for illegal discrimination. If she had a serious health condition that required a doctor’s care, she may be entitled to unpaid leave under FMLA. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: C. Marie

Hi I became employed at a childcare center in august 09. No one told me we got payed monthly which I think is really wrong I found out through hear say and found it to be the truth and everyone starting saying there were surprised I came back after the interview cause no one stays when they are told its monthly. No one told me and i have a 2yr old, so i was furious but i couldnt just quit cause another problem is if u quit with out proper notice they will take away 50 percent of your earnings before they give u your paycheck. and even if u do quit with proper notification or are fired u will have a hard time getting your check. Im scared to quit cause I may not get my check and I have bills. Another issues is that we get payed 7.25 which is fine but a majority of the employess are family and has been working there for over 5 yrs and they get payed 7.25 after all these years you would think they would get a raise..through here say some of the employees said they use to get payed every two weeks so my concern is how can u go from bi weekly to monthy. and the owner says the daycare is state funded and theres a chance that during the holidays our checks will be delayed. and in sept 09 during labor day we didnt receive our checks until 5days after the 10th cause the owner said the state was late paying her. and my rent is always 10 days late..But it seems unfair, also the checks and stubs are always on different paper. like one time it looks like it came from the bank and another time it looks like it came from the owners bank i dont know if that makes since but as long as ive had a job my check have always been from a certain bank and the same color paper. another issue is the owner has told administrators to tell us that we are no longer getting taxes taking out of our check possibly starting in December 09!.Im so confused cause i dont know if any of these things are illegal .Please Help
Posted by: C. Marie

correction of my email
Posted by: C. Marie

Hope to Hear from u soon to answer some of my concerns and questions!!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi C. Marie! First of all, drawing payroll on different bank accounts, paying employees late or changing the payroll schedule are all indications that the employer is having severe financial problems. To put it bluntly, they are having trouble coming up with the money to pay you (and the other employees) and in the near future, they may not have the money to pay you at all. Or they may go out of business entirely, owing you money. So don’t quit your job, but you should immediately begin using your free time to look for a better job, while still working.

It is legal to pay workers, including family members, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour in Arizona. There is no law that any employee must be given a raise, ever.

However, most of the other behavior you describe is illegal. Under Arizona law, an employer must pay workers at least twice per month. If payday falls on a holiday, employees must be paid before the holiday. Under both federal and state law, an employee must be paid for every hour she works, even if she has given notice that she will be leaving. An employer cannot legally delay paying employees, because the state is late paying her. It is unlawful for an employer to neglect to withhold FICA and federal taxes from an employee’s paycheck. We suggest that you file a wage claim with the Industrial Commission of Arizona at http://www.ica.state.az.us/Divisions/labor/wage_claims.html. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

Read more about this at: http://www.ica.state.az.us/faqs/labor/wage_payment_laws.html#
Posted by: C.Marie

So i Quit my job and was told I Wont receive my paycheck until 5 days after payday…hmmm sounds odd
Posted by: Amelia

Hi again C. Marie! Well, that’s interesting. In a way it’s too bad that you quit, because you probably will not qualify for unemployment.

Under Arizona wage payment laws, the employer must pay a fired employee within 3 of the employee’s working days, or on the next regular payday, whichever comes first. (Different rules apply to school districts in Arizona.) However, an employee who quits is entitled to payment on the next regular payday.

Normally we would recommend that if you are not paid on the next payday, you file a wage complaint with the Industrial Commission of Arizona — and it might be a good idea to do so, just in case. However, normally it takes a few weeks for the ICA to investigate a claim, and then they give the employer 10 days to pay the worker. So you may very well have your final paycheck before the ICA finishes its investigation. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Jamie

Hello my husband is having a very difficult time with his work lately. Here is the deal. Recently the company he works for sent 2 separate work crews out to las vegas. My husband was put on a job site that pays prevailing wage, while the other crew was sent to a min wage paying job. The company hirers alot of Hispanic people, some of which my husband KNOWS are illegal. Well it just so happened that they sent 1 of the illegals to the min wage job. The job this illegal was sent to requires speaking writing and understanding of english. He was required to take a written on-site orientation exam. Because the exam is in english, he failed. My husbands job then pulled him off after 1 day of work and told him that he was going to the other site to replace the employee that had failed the exam and that the illegal employee would take his place at the prevailing wage job. The 2 job sites are on opposite sides of the city. My husband had already purchased his hotel room for the week and when the change happend he was not compinsated in any way. My husband feels very disgruntled as this is not the first time somethiing like this has happened. Someone at his work once called OSHA and reported the illegals working on the site. As soon as the Supers got wind that an immigration officer was coming they pulled them off the job and either had them wait in the truck or go back to the hotel room. Is there anything we can do about the whole thing? lack of compensation and illegals? Please help
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jamie! It’s very difficult for a coworker to know without examining their work papers who is a legal employee and who is an illegal employee. Some persons who can legally work in the U.S. do not speak English. In particular, many contracts that pay prevailing wage require that the employer use E-Verify (an internet program through the Department of Homeland Security) to verify that only workers with proper documentation are working on the project. So we are not as sure as your husband that these employees are undocumented workers.
The agency that enforces the immigration laws in the U.S. is ICE, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. OSHA has nothing to do with this — they handle worker safety. You can certainly call ICE and file a complaint, but the hard truth is that almost no one cares. ICE receives almost no funding to arrest and deport regular workers. Due to their funding limitations, they generally only investigate or deport undocumented workers if they commit a violent crime in the U.S. or are convicted felons in their native country. ICE may be interested if there are undocumented workers on a federal contract, but we can’t guarantee it. We can almost guarantee that they are not interested in any undocumented workers on the minimum wage contract. (Don’t send us hate mail — this is not our policy. It’s just the harsh reality.)

There is really no recourse when the employer switches your husband from one job to another one across town. Often, a hotel guest who checks out early is entitled to a refund for any unused nights. However, he might have to pay a nightly rate rather than a weekly rate. Unfortunately, there is no law in Arizona or Nevada that would require the employer to reimburse him for this expense. Sorry, wish we could be of more help. Thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: learon

Hello…. I was wondering about the arizona state laws concerning job termination during a 90 day probationary period. What rights do the employees have and what a company has to do to terminate you as a employee? Are there any guidelines that have to be followd to justify the termination?
Thanks
Posted by: Amelia

Hi learon! There are very few guidelines. Arizona is an “employment at will” state. This means that the employer can terminate any employee, at any time, with or without notice, for any reason or for no reason. An employer can terminate an employee due to work performance, a slow-down in demand, because the arrangement is not working out, or for no reason at all. This is true throughout the employment period, not just during the initial 90 days.
However, an employer cannot commit illegal discrimination. So if the employer terminates a worker because he is Muslim, or because he is Hispanic, that would be illegal. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: John

Message
Hi. I have worked for a self insured school district in Arizona for 11 years. Two years ago I injured my back on the job. The schools insurance denied my original claims for workers compensation. After seeing several specialists and trying different treatments, I decided to have the back surgery that was recommended by one of the specialists I sought out on my own. The workers compensation doctor continued to say I was not really injured. After the surgery, and the obvious fact that it helped my back, I decided to hire an attorney and reopen the workers compensation claim to try and pay for my doctors fees. Utlimately, the Industrial Commission found in my favor and I was awarded doctors fees plus reimbursement for the time off I had to take after the surgery.
Now the problem comes in. After the surgery I took off 3 months from work to recoup. Since the Workers Comp claim was denied, I used all my sick and vacation time that was available to me. I returned to work while the case was ongoing. Now that the case has been closed, and I have been awarded a claim, my employer is telling me I need to sign the award check over to them in order for me to buy back the sick and vacation time that I used during those 3 months.
I have not asked for this time back. But I believe that since the school is self insured, they are seeking to get that money back whatever way they can. I have been told that they will garnish my wages if I refuse to sign over this check. They claim that i was paid twice for the time off.
I’m not sure what to do or where to turn. This is something that I have fought hard for, and if I had not taken the case to court to get the money back for the surgery, then the school wouldn’t have asked for money back for the time off I used.
Can an employer do this?
I’m also out 25% of the claim due to the attorney fees, and the school is saying I owe that amount too.
This cant be right.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi John! We agree that the school district is just trying to get the money back any way that they can. They may have a point that you have now collected twice for the vacation and sick leave, but the amount they are asking for seems excessive.
Regardless, you have an attorney and you need to consult with him or her on this issue ASAP. It may cost you some money, but it will probably save you far more. In addition, the attorney may want to file a suit against the school district for retaliation against you, for filing a successful workers’ comp claim. If you are not comfortable going back to the same attorney, you need to find a new one. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Lynn

We have a delicate situation where I work, and I am not sure how to handle it.

One of the partners has become involved with one of the hourly workers and it is creating a lot of negative issues among the other workers. Prior to the involvment we were considering terminating the employee due to poor performance. We are now not sure if we can do that as we do not want her to be able to retaliate against the company, especially if this involvement ends badly.

Could you please give us some much needed advice regarding how we proceed with this matter. We have spoken to the owner several times about this issue, but we have not gotten cooperation from him.

Thank you
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Lynn! Yes, this is a mess — which is why many employers prohibit relationships between coworkers, especially between partners, owners or supervisors and the employees who report to them.

This is not a situation that you can handle on your own. You need to sit down with all the partners and discuss how this employee’s performance problems will be addressed. (If some people in the room are unaware of the romance, simply say that “Suzie” is involved with one of the partners. Let them figure out who it is.) This gets everything out in the open, instead of putting you in the difficult situation of keeping secrets from some owners.

Treat this as “I need your input on a personnel matter.” Lay out the situation for them, with the pros and cons for keeping the employee, or for laying her off. They may want you to continue to supervise the employee as if she were any other worker. Or, they may decide to show favoritism to the employee, even though it lowers morale for the other workers. Either way, it needs to be their business decision, not yours. (In fact, send them a confirming email, just so you have a record that you did not take this action on your own. Print out the email and keep a copy at home.)

You don’t say if either the partner or the employee is married, but if they are, this is almost certain to “end badly” as you put it. Meaning that the employee will probably file a lawsuit for sexual harassment or sex discrimination when the affair ends. Many, many times consensual affairs turn into “sexual harassment” after the fact. (To be fair, we have to say that at other times the two are able to work together, or even get married.)

The good news is that terminating the employee for her poor job performance now is not retaliation. In a legal sense, retaliation occurs when an employee is penalized for filing a complaint of discrimination, harassment, unpaid wages or other illegal conduct by the employer. If you terminate this employee, you need to document her performance problems and repeated written disciplinary warnings. However, you are in a much stronger position if you terminate her now, rather than after the affair ends. If you wait until the romance is over, she can claim that she was terminated because she stopped having sex with the partner — a pretty clear-cut case of sexual harassment.

Ideally, the termination decision needs to be made based on the employee’s job performance, not her personal relationship with one of the owners.

If your company has a policy against inter-office romances, then both parties need to be reprimanded. It would be illegal discrimination based on sex to terminate the female and allow the male to continue to work there (or vice versa.)

Some employers handle this situation by having both parties sign a document stating that they are engaged in a consensual relationship that is not discrimination or sexual harassment. However, such a document may not hold up in court — the employee could simply state that she was pressured to sign the document.

Ironically, if you continue to employ the hourly worker despite her poor performance, that strengthens her future case for sexual harassment. She can later claim that she was pressured into unwanted sexual activity to save her job — and it certainly seems to have had that effect.

Usually other employees resent this situation because the owner shows favoritism towards the romantic partner. Favoritism is bad management, but it is not illegal in and of itself. So it would be lawful for this employee to be treated better than other employees, based on her personal relationship with the owner. However, again, this strengthens her case that she was given quid pro quo for romantic or sexual contact.

Once the owners make their decision on how to handle this liability situation, you can follow through. You may also want to begin looking for a different job. Business owners who behave this unprofessionally usually cannot offer job security to employees. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: SHERRI

My boyfriend was recently transferred to florida. I had decided to move wiht him. This is regarding the way i have been treated since I handed in my 2 wk notice to my ex-employer.
I handed my 2 wk notice to the office mgr. on Monday morning. 12/28/09. I then was called into the dr. office and ask to sign resignation papers. I refused and said i wanted to work the 2wks and train someone for my position. he then discharged me.
Today is Dec. 31, and I still have not been able to recieve my check.He states that fed-ex had lost them and it would be today..Our payday was 12/24/09 and still have not recieved my check.. Any suggestions on what I and do?

I
Posted by: Amelia

Hi SHERRI! For future reference the way the employer is treating you is not all that unusual. When an employee gives 2 weeks notice, many employers will either accept the notice effective immediately or terminate the employee at once. There are a number of valid reasons why…some eployees do not work very hard during their last 2 weeks and sometimes business is slow and the employer really does not need someone for the two weeks.

You were right not to sign the resignation papers. Because you were terminated, you may qualify for unemployment benefits in Florida.

Legally the employer must still pay the worker on time. You can file a wage complaint with the Industrial Commission of Arizona. There is a strong probability that you will have received your paycheck by the time they investigate, but it still sends a message to the employer that he/she must pay workers on time. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Mike

My wife and I are expecting our 2nd child. My work does not offer FMLA only 40 employees. What are my rights for a 2 week leave? I am willing to take the 2 weeks off unpaid. They might tell me to use my vacation time first. What should I do?
Mike
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Mike! Here’s the bad news. In Arizona, as in most states, there is no law that the employer must let you have any paid or unpaid time off — even one day. If you do take 2 weeks off unpaid without permission, you could be terminated. Even if you have vacation hours accrued, there is no law that the employer must permit you to use them with short notice when your wife goes into labor. The employer can legitimately require that vacations be scheduled and approved weeks or months in advance.

How the employer handles this situation depends upon company policy. Some employers would be understanding, and others would expect you at work every day. If the employer requires or allows that you use paid vacation for this time off, we would strongly recommend it. (Some employers only permit paid vacations at prearranged times.)

Our suggestion is that you have a conversation with the employer now about time off when the baby is born. Let the employer know that you want to disrupt business operations as little as possible, but you will also need to spend time with your family. It may help if you have a plan in place for how your work will get done while you are gone. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: ANGIE

Hello I was wondering is it true, That caregivers that work in a private home. But work for a company. The company does not pay overtime. It is stated in the contract, and hired as part time,
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Angie! The answer depends upon several factors. In Arizona, an employer with annual revenue of $500,000 or more is covered by the federal minimum wage and overtime law, the FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act. If you are covered by that act, you are entitled to overtime, even if you work in a private home, as long as you earn at least $1,500 per year.

Many states exempt a domestic employee who works for a private individual in their home from overtime, but not employees of companies who work in an individuals home. Example: If you hire a housekeeper to work in your home, she is probably exempt. But if you hire the company Mary’s Cleaning Service to provide a housekeeper, she is entitled to overtime.

Unfortunately, Arizona has no overtime law that covers small employers. If the employee engages in interstate commerce, they may still be covered by the FLSA.

Also, in many cases a worker with a contract is a independent contractor, rather than an employee. There is no federal or state law that an independent contractor is entitled to overtime. However, it would be unusual for a caregiver to meet the requirements of independent contractor status.

If you work more than 40 hours in one payroll week, and the employer does not pay you overtime, you can file a wage complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor at http://www.dol.gov. They will sort all of this out for you, and require the employer to pay any wages due. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Armando

I am employeed by a call center and just recently the project I was working for closed. In order to move to another project we have to pass a background check and a drug test. I passed my drug test now am waiting on my background check it has been already 5 days and no answer from my employeer. I call everyday and all I get are answering machines and no one calls me back. On my background check I had a felony but a judge set it aside and I have a letter to prove it which I gave a copy to my employeer. Still no answer from my employeer if I am working or not what can I do.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Armando! First of all, you can apply for unemployment, since it looks like you are not working, at least for the time being.

It appears that your employer is handling this as a new job and requiring you to pass the screening. Your case is unique and complicated, so they are probably consulting an attorney or having meetings to figure out how to handle it. Be patient — they will get back to you with a decision when they have one. Leaving more than one message every 3 days or so is not helping matters.

In most states, the employer has the right to not hire convicted felons, regardless of the circumstances.

You don’t say whether your conviction was overturned or if your record was expunged. Your best bet would be to consult an attorney to get these details sorted out. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Maria

Hello Amelia!
1) I work for a large private university. I have been employed there for 2 1/2 years now. I have done extremely well in my sale based job. I get paid salary and I have performance based reviews every 6 months. Every review that I have had, I have done well and have at least received a meets expectations. Within my current review period, I have not been performing up to my monthly average standards. The first three months of this I received a warning. The following month I met my monthly average number and the month after I did not. My manager took me off to the side one day and told me that I was going to be receiving a written warning at that point in time for my performance. He said that I needed to start thinking about either giving my two weeks resignation or choosing to be walked out. I was caught off guard, but I told him that I needed to talk with my husband about it. I told him that more than likely I would stick it out and be walked out if I needed to be so that I could apply for unemployment if I couldn’t find another job right away. He told me that he had a friend at the unemployment office and he thinks that I could quit and still collect unemployment that I would just have to wait 3 weeks after quitting versus being fired and being able to file that same day. I am fairly young and have never had to deal with unemployment, so I believed him at first, but I still told him that I needed to talk with my husband before making that decision. Two days later I received the formal written warning with his manager there to be a witness. I was told by my managers manager that this would be on my record for 6 months. I am now required to check in with my manager with my weekly improvements in my performance and I was told by my manager that I am on a month by month basis.

2) I later found out that a few other co-workers have been dealing with our manager saying and doing things that seem to be pushing us to quit on our own. Other employees have been verbally attacked by him saying that they are worthless and other name calling.

3) Another co-worker said that he was in my same written warning situation and never had to check up on his progress week by week, never was told he was on a month by month situation, and he did not meet his numbers on some of those months while being in that 6 month window and they never once bothered him about it. I feel like I am being discriminated against.

4) Another employee that just “resigned” claims that she is going through a personal problem where she no longer has a car to get to work and once she let our manager know, he requested her to put in her resignation.

5) What should I do? I know I should talk with our HR department, but I am scared because other people have called HR on him for various reasons and he has told me about it. He couldn’t noticeably retaliate against them, but he would talk bad about that person to me and release personal information to me that I should not know of. He has always beat the HR claims because he is very manipulative and smart about everything he does. I don’t know what to do and I don’t know if I have a case of some sort of discrimination. Can you please help me?! Thank you!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Maria! We will address each issue in turn. Some of these problems arise from the fact that you have been thinking of this manager as being a friend, or being on your side. You are going to have to give up that illusion, and stand up for yourself. That will undoubtedly result in him not liking you so much.

1) This manager is lying to you, which is not unusual. Employees who quit almost never qualify for unemployment. Generally, managers are expected to reduce the number of employees who qualify for unemployment, and that is what he is trying to do. It is very common for a manager to try to get employees to resign rather than fire them. Don’t fall for this. HR probably knows he is doing this and it may even be their suggestion.

2) It’s unprofessional for a manager to verbally abuse employees, but not illegal.

3) This may very well be illegal discrimination if the other employee is male, or of a different ethnic group, and he was treated differently under similar circumstances. You should raise this concern with HR immediately. If they do not address it, file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov.

4) The manager handled this appropriately. Employees are responsible for having transportation to work. An employee who does not have transportation to work should resign. The other option is for her to be terminated for absenteeism, which would result in a poor reference. Either resigning or being terminated for lack of transportation would result in her being ineligible for unemployment.

5) You should tactfully and calmly discuss the discrimination situation with HR, but remember that they are not on your side. They are on the employer’s side in any dispute. However, if the manager is breaking the law, they will try to rein him in. It is not illegal for the manager to say bad things about employees who have filed complaints against him, and it may not be against company policy. You can mention it to HR, but your primary focus should be on the discrimination because you are not being treated like the male employee.

You need not mention that this manager is smart and manipulative. HR probably already knows — that is why they hired him. Unfortunately, the business world is set up to reward manipulative, unethical people. The best you can do is try to protect yourself. HTH,a dnhanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Dominic

I worked for an individually owned restaurant and I was let go yesterday 4/4/10 yep Easter and it was my birthday also. But anyway my second to last pay check I lost over 3 weeks ago I’ve been trying to get a new check ever since. I went in today to get my final paycheck (it had been 24 hours since they let me go) they did not have my paycheck and when I asked them about the paycheck from the pay period before he laughed and said he paid me in cash and I would never see that money what can I do I signed that I got the check but it was lost and I never cashed it.
Posted by: Arthur Deschenes

Hi there, I got wrongfully terminated on 2/02/2010 I was re hired back on the same day by my manager. The lady in benefits dept. Well ever since that day my money has been taken out of my checks bi weekly, but I STILL to this day have NOT been reinstated as far as my benefits go. I talked to her twice, April 2nd left her a voice mail once on april 6thand called her again on April 8th and STILL no benefits. I would like to have the monies that were deducted from my check refunded to me which comes to $ 130.16
checks dates feb 12th feb 26th March 12th and the 26th and april9th as well
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Arthur! You are right, you are entitled to a refund of this money. It has been illegally deducted from your paycheck.
Under both state and federal law, an employer can make a deduction from an employee’s paycheck for items like health insurance premiums only if those deductions benefit the employee. This deduction does not benefit you, because health insurance benefits are not being provided. Therefore, it was illegal for the employer to take that money out of your check in the first place.
File a wage complaint for this amount with the Industrial Commission of Arizona. Basically, the employer shorted your pay by $130.16 and you want the money you are owed. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Lynn

Message
I am a salaried employee that has worked for this company since day one and that has been for 2.5 years. I have always been salaried and have usually worked more than 40 hours a week. I have done the job of at 1 1/2 persons if not more. The company that I work for is experiencing financial problems and let everyone know that their hours and pay were going to be cut. The date given for this to take effect was 04/12/10. Yesterday 04/08/10 another memo went out back dating the effective date to 04/05/10. when I inquired about this stating that I had already worked more than the reduced hours, I was informed that since I am salary that they can pay me the new rate no matter what my hours. I understand that salary personnel do not get paid for more than their salary, but can they back date a salary reduction after the work has been preformed?
I had missed four days due to illness the beginning of March and was not paid for that time. They then decided that they would have me train another employee to do part of my work. Now they are saying that in addition to the hours cuts and the original salary cut, they are going to reduce my pay even further now that I won’t be doing all the work. Over the 2.5 years the work load has increased and I never received additional money for the added responsibilities. Now that their are finally getting the job to a managable point, they are taking more money away from me to pay my helper. Is this legal?

If I were to quit because of this, could I collect unemployment?

thank you.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Lynn! Everything you mention is legal except the retroactive salary decrease. Under both federal and state law, an employee must be informed of any reduction in salary or wages before the increase goes into effect, not afterwards.

Otherwise, the employer is right. They can decrease your responsibilities and salary. They can decrease your wages while still requiring that you work the same number of hours.

If the employer made a significant decrease in your wages or job responsibilities, and you quit without working under the new arrangement for even one day, you might qualifyr for unemployment. Our suggestion is that you continue to work while you look for a better job. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Rebecca

I was recently fired from my job for something that was not specified in policy or procedure and had been given no warning about. The problem is the company is holding my final check as payment for training I was given last year. The company required me to sign a contract stating that if I quit or was fired in the next year I was to pay the company back for the training in the amount of $1,500. So I’m not being paid for my final two weeks of work and I’m being threatened with collections if I don’t pay back the final amount.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Rebecca! This is a gray area. Unfortunately, it is legal in many states, because you signed a contract that specified you would repay this amount. We suggest that you file a wage complaint about not being paid for the final two weeks with the Industrial Commission of Arizona. Here’s the problem: even if you receive your final paycheck, you may still owe the company $1,500 for training. You could hire a lawyer and try to fight the contract. We cannot predict the future, but if the employer keeps your final paycheck, it would be very unusual for them to take you to collections over this. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Lisa

My husband has a very big issues. He went to Arizona to help out starting a gold mining operation. They told him they were banking his hours and would pay him out of the profits. He worked for the last 3 months getting everything set up for them, but equipment broke down and the company lost everything. He has not gotten paid and they owe him over $10,000. They are now out of business and there is no money for him. What do we do? Will he ever be able to get that money back from the owners???

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Lisa! Your husband needs to consult an attorney immediately. This was a foolish proposition from the start. No employee should ever accept being told “we will pay you out of the profits, when we start making money.” Anyone who accepts that deal should have part ownership in the business.

If your husband was an employee, the owners were in violation of state and federal minimum wage laws when they did not pay your husband at least or twice once per month, for all hours worked. This was not an ethical way to conduct business. Unfortunately, once a company goes out of business, it is almost impossible for employees to collect back wages owed to them. It’s like trying to get blood from a turnip. If the company has gone bankrupt, there is no money for them to pay him. Still, your husband should try to see if an attorney will accept this case without charging you massive fees upfront. Otherwise, about the best thing he can do is look for a job that pays real money. Unfortunately, because your husband was not paid, there is an excellent chance that he will not qualify for unemployment benefits, etiher. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Lynn

Message
I quit my job due to the fact that they wanted to cut my salary by $300.00 per week. When they gave me the paper to sign, I told them that I could not work for that amount and that I was leaving. I did not sign the paper. They requested that I at least give them notice. So I stayed the remainder of that week and the next week. There was no more discussion of cutting my salary. I received full salary the week that I gave notice. I have my check’s direct deposited and when I checked my account, my final paycheck was short. When I called the payroll department, I was informed that they had cut my pay. Since I never signed the form, told them that I would not work for that amount and agreed to stay to train my replacement, can they legally cut my pay on my final check, when I did not agree to work for that amount?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Lynn! This is a really bad situation but unfortunately, the employer can legally do this. The employer does not need your permission or written agreement to reduce your wages. The employer can unilaterally reduce any employees wages at any time, as long as the employee is informed in advance, before performing the work, that the wages will be reduced. From the employer’s point of view, they informed you verbally that your wages would be reduced.

From a legal perspective, once you had been informed of the wage reduction and continued to work, you accepted the new, lower wage. You were trying to do the right thing, but the employer took advantage of you. Shame on them!

It gets worse. Often, an employee who quits due to a significant wage reduction qualifies for unemployment benefits. However, if the employee works even one day under the lower wages, the employee is assumed to have accepted the new, lower wages. Generally, an employee who does this does not qualify for unemployment benefits. So basically the employer tricked you into accepting the new, lower wages. You should file for unemployment, but do not be surprised if the employer denies it. You should appeal the decision if unemployment is denied. You may also want to consult an attorney, or to file a claim for unpaid wages with the Industrial Commission of Arizona. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Nina T.

Hi. I work for a non-profit organization that is one of the “spokes” of a substance abuse counseling agency. I am the “director/developer” until this next Wednesday. I work 40 hours a week, although the company is small and therefore uses no time cards. Because of the ‘economy’ I have not received a full paycheck since Feb. 2010. The clinical director of the parent company is also the grantor that the funds for the smaller company come from. I have approached her on numerous occasions concerning the issue, have talked to the administrative director, and the board of directors on numerous occasions and have yet to be satisfied. On saturday, I once again approached the clinical director and was told that I probably would never see the back pay. I have worked for this company in this position since 8/2008. I have received one vacation, but was told by the administrative director that it would not be a paid vacation and then 2 weeks later she took a paid vacation. Any ideas? I have no money for legal help due to not getting paid, have lost 2 living situations, and am now living in one of the company’s sober living homes because I can’t afford to live any where else. HELP!!!!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Nina! Under both state and federal minimum wage laws, an employee must be paid for all the time she works. The same rules apply to nonprofits as to businesses. The employer could inform you that from now on, your salary will be reduced (as long as it is still above the minimum wage.) However, you must be informed before the work is performed. The employer cannot simply tell you after you have performed the work that you will not be paid for it. You need to file a wage complaint with the Labor Department of the Industrial Commission of Arizona. They will investigate and if the employer owes you money, force them to pay it. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Michael Wheeler Jr.

I worked for this guy for like 2-3 months, One was in december of 2009, then January and february of 2010. He did not pay me for the hours I had worked as well as not given me my last check. I just moved to Arizona and I am not sure what the Laws are can someone help??
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Michael! Under both the federal and Arizona minimum wage laws, an employee must be paid for all the time he or she works. File a wage complaint with the Industrial Commission of Arizona at http://www.ica.state.az.us/. They will assist you in collecting your back wages. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: susan

MessageI just started working for [employer name deleted] health care solutions in Arizona. (started April 16, 2010). One week I put n 73 hours. I was planning on a nice paycheck with 33 hours of Over time. Didnt happen. I found out after I worked all those hours, this company only pays straight time. EXCEPT Holidays which they pay Time and a Half. Now I just agreed to take on a new client starting Monday (Memorial Day) and I was glad because I need the hours . My shift will be 7 PM – 7 AM (12 hr shift) I was told I will only get overtime pay until Midnight. That means employees who work day shift get paid overtime for their entire shift and the Night time workers are screwed out of 7 hours of Holiday pay because the Holiday ends at Midnight? This company does not pay Night Differential. Day workers will get 12 hours OT but the Nighttime people with the same amount of hours dont? Is this legal? Susan Bagorazzi
Posted by: Amelia

Hi susan! Yes, this is legal — and it’s even reasonable. It sounds like you are working as a home helathcare aid. There is no law in Arizona or most states that an employer must offer holiday pay. If the employer does offer holiday pay, the employer sets the policies surrounding it.

In this case, those policies are entirely reasonsable. One employee will work 7 pm to 7 am the night before the holiday, and receive 7 hours of holiday pay. The daytime employee will work 7 am to 7 pm on the holiday and receive 12 hours of holiday pay. Then you will work 7 pm to 7 am and receive 5 hours of holiday pay. The employer will have paid 24 hours of holiday pay for the day. If they paid everyone time-and-a-half for the entire shift, they would have to pay 36 hours of holiday pay for one 24-hour day, which isn’t fair to the employer. After you have been with the company for a while, you will probably be able to work more holidays, and perhaps more day shifts on days like Christmas and Thanksgiving, if you want to.

What we see as a greater problem is the fact that you are not paid overtime when working more than 40 hours in the payroll week. Unfortunately, in many states home healthcare aids are not entitled to overtime, which is a loophole in the law. Still, to be on the safe side, contact the U.S. Department of Labot at http://www.dol.gov. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Danielle

I had a baby at the beginning of February and did not return to until the beginning of April. When I was originally hired in July 2007, the written policy for the health insurance stated that the company is responsible for 75% of the premium and the employee is responsible for 25%. While I was on maternity leave, I was told since I did not have any vacation time that I would be responsible for 100% of the premium. When I returned to work in April, I looked at the employee handbook I signed off on when I was originally hired and it did not state that I was responsible for 100% of the premium. I later found out that the handbook had been changed while I was out on maternity leave to state that employees with no vacation time would be responsible for 100% of the premium. This has been a silent policy within the company and not a written one and I was not made aware of the policy until I had been with the company for quite some time. My employer has kept the original dates of May 2007 and October 2007 on the covers of the manuals but when I looked at the properties, the documents themselves were modified on March 2nd 2010. To my knowledge no employees were made aware of the writing modifications in the handbook even though it clearly states employees will be made aware of any and all changes and will need to sign off on all changes and a digital copy will be given to all employees. Can my employer legally make written changes in the employee handbook and not make the employees aware of these changes even if it was a silent policy? Thank you.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Danielle! Yes, the employer can make changes to company policy without putting them in writing. Most companies have many unwritten policies. In addition, the company can make changes to a written policy without specifically informing each employee. The best practice would be to send employees a written memo, but often this is not necessary.

Many employees assume that the handbook they received the day they were hired applies for their entire career with the company, but this is inaccurate. It applies only until the employer changes it.

If your employer had 50 or more workers within 75 miles, then you were entitled to unpaid leave under the federal FMLA. That law requires that the employer continue to pay their portion of the group health insurance premium. However, if you were not entitled to FMLA, then the employer can make you pay the entire premium for the time you were off. In fact, they would not have to return you to work at all and could have terminated you. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Danielle

Is it legal for my employer to take any money out of my paycheck for the insurance cost I owe them without telling me and having me sign something saying I owe them x amount of money and can they hold my last paycheck if I were to quit or be terminated?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Danielle! Yes, if you were not on FMLA, when you originally signed up for group health insurance, you signed a document giving the employer permission to make that deduction from your paycheck. In Arizona and most states, the employer can also deduct any amount that you owe them from your paycheck, or from your final paycheck. Many employers would take twice the usual deduction from your paycheck until you are caught up. Again, if you were on FMLA, different rules apply. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: woody

can an employee be suspended for repeated counts of verbal abuse if:

1) the second count is still in the grievance process, and

2) the abused was out of earshot and didn’t hear a thing, except second-handedly

thanx for your time, woody
Posted by: Amelia

Hi woody! An employer can suspend any employee who violates company policy, and the employer is the judge of who has or has not violated company policy. Yes, an employer can suspend an employee even if the employee is appealing the finding. And, many companies have rules against defaming the company or other workers, or offensive language, even if the target of the remarks was not present. In some cases, this behavior even qualifies as illegal abuse, again, even if the target is not present. So employers have to take a hard line with such behavior. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Caroline

My current employer has invoked the WARN Act for its Arizona plant and with it, an announcement regarding severance. Previously terminated employees [end of January 2010] were given a week for each year of service. Post WARN ACT, the new policy is a week for anything under 5 years; two weeks for over 5 years. Do we have any recourse since there is some precedence?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Caroline! Unfortunately, no you probably do not have any recourse. There is no law that an employer must follow the same policies indefinitely. In this case, the employer had one set of policies for severances in January and has another set of policies for severance in June.

There is one loophole here. By law, an employer must provide the same pay, benefits, working conditions etc. to members of a protected group as to others. If the group being laid off in June is mostly female (or mostly male, or mostly Latino, or mostly Catholic, etc.) then this may be illegal discrimination under both federal and Arizona law. However, if both groups include about the same number of individuals from protected groups, this is probably legal. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Caroline

Thanks Amelia. One question: the last two employees laid off were male and female but both over 50. Does that fit in the loophole?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Caroline! It might. You could certainly make a case that these two employees being offered less severance than their younger coworkers was illegal discrimination based on age. You could either file a complaint with the EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov or hire an attorney. It is possible that if the two employees even mention hiring an attorney, the company will decide to pay them more severance. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia

When an employee quits without any notice, especially a health care professional, who still has our keys, cell phone, and other things that belong to the company. What is the law for paycheck, and also the fact that by her doing so has abandoned the patients. The other things she has are registered keys to the office, had to notify alarm company if she tries to get in. She has called and left messages of wanting her paycheck, but I also need those items replaced, or returned. She knows the policy. What is my recourse, can I charge her for replacement of items she does not bring back?
Posted by: Amelia

HI Sylvia! Unfortunately, Arizona does not allow you to withhold the employee’s final paycheck past the usual payday for any of these reasons. Under both federal and Arizona minimum wage laws, the employer must pay the employee for all hours worked, and under Arizona law that payment must come on the next regular payday after the employee quits.

It is possible that if you had the employee’s signed permission to deduct a specific amount (such as $477) from the final paycheck as payment for unreturned keys, cell phone, etc. then you might — we stress might — be able to deduct that amount from the employee’s final paycheck in Arizona. However, her final paycheck would still have to exceed the federal minimum wage for hours worked. If you do not have a signed authorization, then you must pay the employee for the full hours or days worked. Sorry, but the law does not permit you to punish an employee by withholding wages, regardless of how she has acted. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: veronica

hi i am wondering if any one can help me with a problem. i am trying to find out how many hours are the min. and max for a person on a salery pay check is allowed to work whats legal or no. if some one can please help me out with this matter it would be very helpful

thank you for your time
veronica
Posted by: Amelia

Hi veronica! Under the federal FLSA, a salaried employee can be exempt or non-exempt. A non-exempt employee is basically an hourly employee. She is entitled to overtime and entitled to payment only for the hours she works.

An exempt employee is what most people mean when they say “a salaried employee.” An exempt employeem, under the federal FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act, is paid the same salary every week, regardless of the number of hours she works. She is never entitled to overtime, even if she works 100 hours per week. The exempt employee generally must be paid her entire salary for the week, as long as she works any portion of the week. (There are some exceptions under FMLA, ADA and similar laws.)

There is no federal or Arizona law that mandates how many hours the exempt employee must work. Each employer can set this standard. One employer might require exempt employees to work 100 hours per week, and fire anyone who does not. Another employer might allow an exempt employee to work only 25 hours per week, as long as all her work was done. This is a matter of company policy, not employment law. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Ms B

I would like to find out what we can do to collect money that is owed to us. I will use the name Ms. B to protect my identity and the identity of my fellow workers. Unfortunately we have not been paid for work done regularly for the past year. We just found out that the employer has not paid Payroll taxes for the last year. I, alone am owed over 50 thousand dollars in back pay. It has been quite tough for me because this has affected my health, my credit, and pretty much my entire life. They have developed an attitude that even if we go to the labor board, the board can’t take blood from a rock.

Unfortunately these funds to manage the payroll have come from private investors coaxed by an individual that has been cited for questionable investment management. We the victims feel that we have given a lot to this company and are afraid that the key players in this company are going to run without paying us for the large amount of back pay. The top individual has taken action to keep himself out of any liability loop by stating to all that his position with the company is on a consultant basis. He claims that he could be terminated at any time; however, this person is the boss and calls all of the shots in the company. He has a very loyal small group of executives that are his eyes and ears. I’m about to lose my home, my vehicle, and my health. Please tell me what we can do to correct this wrong and bring some sanity to our lives.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for some of our staff members. They have not paid the self funded medical insurance and it has truly made an impact on some of the staff member’s health. There is a team menber that put of going to the hospital for a long time because of this, and the fact that they did not have any money. She was ill and taken to the hospital protesting that she had no money and that her insurance would not pay. A few days later she was diagnosed with severe cancer. She has maybe two to three months left to live. We all know that she would have been able to go to the doctor if she would have been paid, and if she would have had the insurance that she was offered. I beg someone out there for guidance. These people are very slippery and will get away with murder. I’m afraid to even post my e-mail address because of my safety. I have no were else to go for a job. However I will continue to view your site for advice.

Ms B
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ms. B! This is a terrible situation and you have our sympathy. Unfortunately, the employer is entirely unethical and mostly correct. We will assume that you are genuinely an employee, not an independent contractor.

We have to ask — what were you thinking? Why in heaven’s name would you continue to work for an employer who owed you, say, $10,000 and had not paid it? Okay,okay. They must have been pretty slick talkers and convinced you that you would see your money at some point. Unfortunately, that was probably a lie.

For any employee out there in a similar position: Just walk away. An employer who owes you $3,000 is not suddenly going to start paying you every week. You are better off flipping burgers for minimum wage, than working for free. In virtually every state, an employee who quits due to nonpayment is entitled to unemployment benefits.

Okay, back to Ms. B. Sadly, the employer is right. Usually, a company that starts acting this way is having severe financial difficulties. Often, they declare bankruptcy or go out of business and the employees are never paid. If the employer declares bankruptcy, employees may receive a portion of the wages due to them, or they may be left with nothing.

An ethical employer does not act in this manner. An ethical employer will shut the doors, rather than permit employees to work without pay.

You say you have no other prospects to get a job. We find that hard to believe. Is there no McDonald’s or Walmart where you live? Because either one of those jobs would be better than the one you have. They would pay at least the minimum wage and provide health insurance. (No offense to the many competent employees and managers in the fast food and retail industries.)

Seriously, you are afraid to use your real name? Why? What are they going to do, fire you??? At this point, that would be a blessing. Working for free is much worse than being out of a job, and you have been working for free for the past year, even if that was not your intention.

The first thing you should do is file a wage claim with the Industrial Commission of Arizona at http://www.ica.state.az.us/Labor/Labor_WagClm_FAQs_Wage_Claims.aspx. Also report to the ICA that this employer is not paying unemployment taxes. It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee who files a wage complaint in good faith. Of course, we have already seen that this employer does not hesitate to break the law.

Some states have a maximum on wage claims, like $6,000. If the ICA cannot take your claim, you may need to consult an attorney. The good news is that the attorney may be willing to not charge an up-front fee, and take a percentage of any settlement instead. If you go this route, it makes sense for several coworkers to use the same attorney.

Go to work one more day, to encourage all of your coworkers to also file wage claims. Then never go back. What do you have to lose? Instead of working 40 hours per week for free, spend 40 hours per week looking for a real job. You know, one that pays money to you.

You should also file for unemployment benefits. (As noted above, normally when an employee quits due to nonpayment, they qualify for unemployment.) You may not be granted them if the employer has not been paying payroll taxes, but it will bring the state agencies down on them hard.

In some states an employer would be financially liable for health insurance benefits promised to workers but not delivered. But it will probably take a lawsuit to sort that out.

Don’t be tempted to hang on, hoping that at some point the employer will pay you in full and give you a nice bonus for loyalty. Our experience has been that once a company is in this much financial trouble, 100% of the time the employees get burned. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Caitlin
Posted by: Bill Gailfus

I overheard some employees at a business talking amoung themselves about the fact that they were not being paid overtime on the time they were putting in over the normal 40 hrs per week schedule. They were sometimes paid straight time and other times not paid for the time at all. During this time of jobs being hard to find they are afraid that if they complain they will lose their jobs all together and not have any income coming in. What can they do without being fired for complaining and who would they contact in a case like this?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Bill!
There are two separate issues here — Arizona minimum wage and the federal overtime law. The Arizona minimum wage law requires that an employee be paid for all hours worked. Employees who are not can file a wage complaint with the Industrial Commission of Arizona at http://www.ica.state.az.us/Labor/Labor_WagClm_main.aspx.
Federal law requires that an employee who works more than 40 hours in a payroll week be paid overtime at 1.5 times the employee’s usual hourly rate. The employees who are being paid straight time can file a wage complaint at http://www.dol.gov.
In either case, the government agency will investigate, and if they find the employees are owed wages, they will force the employer to pay. It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee who files a wage complaint in good faith, even if the investigation shows that the employer does not owe any money. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Jessica

Hi…
I was working at a small restuarant in Tempe.
Worked for about 3-4 weeks in august, each week I got between 30-40 hours, then had to quit all of a sudden
Do to family reasons and school. But ever since I quit I’ve been trying to get
Ahold of my boss for my paycheck. I’ve been constantly calling him but he won’t return my phone calls or answer his phone, I’ve tried to leave him a voicemail but every time I call it says “this voicemail is to full”. What should I do?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jessica! You should probably do two things. First, phone the restaurant, not your boss’s cell phone. If he is not available, leave a message that you will be in the next day to pick up your final paycheck. Then, go to the restaurant during business hours the next day and ask for your check. If you are not given a paycheck, file a wage claim with the Industrial Commission of Arizona at http://www.ica.state.az.us/Labor/Labor_WagClm_main.aspx. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Gmari

Hi

My question is that when I was hired. I was told that I was going to make $12.50
a hour. I got my first check from my calculation I was paid a lot less. They stated that I am salary. I never sign anything stating I am salary. Plus they told me if I work over time my pay for regular hours goes down. Can they do that. The way I’ve been calculating my hours comes out less then minimum wage.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Gmari! File a wage complaint with the Arizona Industrial Commission. They will investigate and determine if you are being paid appropriately. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

What are the laws whether it be Arizona, or Federal, on ID required by us to have if someone has just moved here. By State law it is within 10 days. What is the law for employers?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sylvia! Under federal law, you can and must accept a valid state-issued driver’s license from any state for I-9 purposes. If an employee is relocating from Texas, and presents an unexpired Texas driver’s license with a social security card for the I-9, that is sufficient. This is true, even if it has been more than 10 days since the employee moved. Generally speaking, you cannot dictate what documents you will accept from an employee for I-9 purposes. The employee can submit any of the documents listed on the I-9 form to prove identity and authorization to work, such as a passport, green card, state I.D. card, etc. (Exception: If the employer is using E-Verify, the employer can require a social security card for that purpose.) A driver’s license or state I.D. from any of the 50 states is acceptable.

Obviously, if the employee’s responsibilities include driving, you will need to see a valid Arizona driver’s license before putting the employee to work. However, you cannot require that for other employees.

Although Arizona’s immigration law has received a lot of news coverage, it basically requires that the employer have an I-9 on each employee and use E-Verify or a similar system for new employees. You should also keep a copy of the supporting documents for the I-9. Arizona law prohibits an employer from knowingly hiring illegal aliens. As long as the employee passes E-Verify, and the drivers license appears genuine, you have complied with that requirement. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia

Read more about this at: http://www.azcommerce.com/BusAsst/SmallBiz/SBS/J1/Ja.htm
Posted by: Vanessa Lopez

My name is Vanessa,
i was working for a company for a little bit over a year, this employer always paid me late, and although i did have a problem with her always paying late it was fine with me because it would only be 2-4 days late. I stopped working for this lady up until 2 months ago, and she still has NOT paid my last two time sheets. what can i do?????
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Vanessa! You should immediately file a wage claim with the Industrial Commission of Arizona at http://www.ica.state.az.us/Labor/Labor_WagClm_main.aspx. They can force the employer to pay you, but that effort is less likely to be successful if you wait to file the claim. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Ray

My wife works in a retail store full time. She has been having problems with her back and her feet. She went to her doctors and had her to check on these problems. The doctor told my wife she has arthritis in her back and that this is causing the problems with her feet.The doctor gave her a note to only work 35 hours a week. My wifes supervisor said that she read the note and said that my wife would either have to work 20 hours a week , plus lose her insurance, or work 40 hours a week. To me this sounds like an ultimatum and what I would like to know is this is legal?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ray! Okay, first of all, it is entirely legal for the manager to give your wife an ultimatum. Employers give ultimatums all the time, like “If you don’t come to work, you don’t get paid” or “If you can’t show up before noon, you can’t work here.”

However, the good news is that your wife may be entitled to a modified work schedule. In early 2009, the federal EEOC expanded the definition of a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to include arthritis and many other conditions. The ADA applies to employers with 15 or more workers. That law requires that an employer make reasonable accommodations for an employee with a permanent disability. However, the employee has to request the accommodation — the employer does not have to offer it.

Your wife should go back to the employer and say, “I have a permanent disability, and under the ADA I am requesting the accommodation of working 35 hours per week instead of 40 hours per week.” (It might also be helpful to make the request in writing, date it and keep a copy.) Your wife should use exactly those words, so there is no misunderstanding. She may be required to submit documentation from her doctor that she has a disability. If she is refused this accommodation, she should go to her manager’s boss or the HR department. A reduction in work hours is one of the most common accommodations under ADA.

An employer can refuse an ADA accommodation that is an undue hardship, but it is hard to see how this is an undue hardship. If the employer refuses or your wife has other problems with them, she can consult the federal EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov about disability discrimination. Feel free to post any additional questions you might have, this can be a complex topic. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: James

I was working at a hotel here in town that was going through a remodel and had the parking lot being resealed, well we got all the vehicales out of the area and had a motorcycle that we could not locate the owner to have it moved so we were asked to move it about 10 feet to an area that wasnt being sealed, while in the process there was a couple of items that supposedly got broke and we left a note for the owner to let him know. The owner finally got back with us and told us that the cost of the repair was going to be about threehundred and eighty some odd dollars to repair. well when the hotel owners let me go they said that they will get me a check pending the cost of the repairs. My question is can they do that ? we moved the cycle because we told to move it. Thier insurance should pay for it correct ? and if they do take it out of my final paycheck do i have a legal leg to stand on to recoupe what they take ?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi James! We agree with you, that this was a very bad situation. First of all, the employer should have notified guests in advance so they could move their own vehicles. Second, as you noted, if the employers asked you to move a motorcycle, they should have accepted responsibility for any damages. Whether or not the owners’ insurance pays for it is immaterial. It’s not your responsibility, it’s theirs.

Like most states, Arizona severely limits the deductions an employer can make from the employee’s wages. They can make this deduction only if you have given written consent for them to do so — and they can’t delay paying you the wages you are owed. You must be paid for all hours you have worked, on the next payday. We suggest that you file a wage complaint with the Industrial Commission of Arizona at http://www.ica.state.az.us/Labor/Labor_WagClm_main.aspx. They will investigate and if they find the employer has not paid you for all hours worked, they will force the employer to pay. If necessary, they will even file a lawsuit to force the employer to pay you.

You should also file for unemployment benefits. HTH, and thanks fo reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia

How much information can an employer give to another employer when wanting to hire someone who has either quit, or been fired from our agency? Is there a law or would we be held liable for telling new employer of like ill repute, or moral perpetuate. Or something that is detrimental to new employer. Only if it was based on truth and able to show liability of such person.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sylvia! In many states, employers have successfully been sued for millions of dollars for giving out negative references on former employees. This is true, even if the information was accurate. So yes, if you choose to share this information you are liable.

Even if an employee stole money from your company, and was convicted of it in court, it would probably be unwise for you to reveal that information to someone calling for a reference. This is even more true in cases of “ill repute” or moral turpitude, which are often unproved or a matter of personal opinion.

This is why the overwhelming majority of employers will give only a positive reference. If that is not warranted, they will give only a neutral reference. The usual response is “I can only verify dates employed and salary history.” Then the new employer gives you the information they have and you say, “Yes, that is accurate” or “No, that is not accurate” but no more information is provided.

Many companies will also disclose whether or not the employee is considered rehirable, but that is as far as they will go.

Sometimes, in cases where the information is extremely negative, the former employer may say, “On the advice of our attorney, I cannot disclose any more information on this person.” If you repeat this phrase two or three times in response to questions, the prospective employer is likely to get the idea that this employee is bad news. However, even saying this much is risky for you as an employer.

One good thing about the Internet, Facebook, etc. is that it makes it much easier for the employer to dig up negative information on a prospective employee, without relying solely on references. Any employer should be leery of hiring someone without good references. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia

Can an employee ask for their employment records in Arizona status? We have not this happen, but are making new rules for 2011. And need an answer.
Thank you so much find your blog very, very informative.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi again Sylvia! An employee can ask for anything, including a diamond ring and a million dollars. However, there is no law that a private employer in Arizona must provide the employee with a copy of the personnel file, or even allow the employee to look at his or her personnel file. These are business records that belong to the employer. If the employee provides a subpoena, the employer must release the files. (Employees who work for the State of Arizona are entitled to see their personnel files, and some union contracts also grant that right.)

The best practice is to provide an employee with a copy of any disciplinary notices or employee evaluation at the time. It is then up to the employee to maintain these records.

Several states do require that employees be given copies of their personnel records if requested, but Arizona is not one of them.

Thanks for the kind words on the blog! You may also find our sister site at http://www.humanresourceblog.com useful. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: george

do you answer any question’s ? or due simpley refer everone to your sister site. very unhelpful web site.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi george! Actually, we’re glad you asked that! There was a point in the history of this website when it was our official policy to refer employee questions to our sister site. However, we have been answering questions from readers, in detail, every day for several years. Did you have a question you wanted to ask? ~ Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

If an employee, has given you notice of resignation, and is not within the parameters of leaving notice, like she is leaving with only one week notice, not two per policy. And we have given her a Christmas bonus, is there a way to recoup the bonus, seeing how she knew she was quitting anyway. Like taking the bonus amount out of her last paycheck, or something like that. Don’t want to sound mean spirited, but this lady has caused a lot of problems. Thank you
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sylvia! Unfortunately, no, taking the bonus back is not lawful in Arizona. We agree that this employee is treating you poorly. However, theoretically, she earned the bonus by beng a good employee in the past year. The bonus was not an advance on salary or a bribe to guarantee good performance in the future. In most states including Arizona, you are still responsible for paying the employee’s wages for time worked in the final week.

For the future, you could create a written company policy that if an employee quits within 3 months after receiving a bonus, the bonus is treated like an advance on wages and deducted from the paycheck. However, you should consult an attorney before doing so.

It might also be helpful to have an exit interview (in person, on the phone or via email) by an HR person or someone who did not work with her every day. This behavior by an employee suggests taht she is “getting even” for what she sees as a slight, and it might be constructive to understand the underlying issue. (Of course, the employee may simply be extremely selfish.)

The best tactic is simply to act in an honorable way towards this employee, even if she is not acting in an honorable way towards you. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

There has been a problem with two employee’s that have cause us concern. We are under Federal, State, and other agencies to not disclose information about the population we serve. These two individuals, even after signing a confidentiality form, have chosen to get in touch with patients after they have either been terminated, or quit. We in general know what to do with professionals who are licensed and take action with board members about their ethics. One is going for a Master Degree, to get licensed. In the meantime, because they signed the confidentiality form which states they cannot contact any of our patients once leaving the agency under whatever circumstances. Do you feel we should contact a lawyer or contact these people and remind them of the form they agreed to sign, and still in effect.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sylvia! You don’t say exactly what your concern is regarding the contact. If it could be in any way harmful for the patients to have continued contact with ex-employees, then we would say yes, have an attorney contact them. You may also want to routinely review this policy with employees and during the exit interview. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: Dan

Hi. Im a driver for a moving company and some questions and don’t know where to turn. They charge us for claims to the goods as well as on equipment that is poorly maintained. Also for uniforms and any overhead they see from their customers. I’m a company driver and they are making me pay for fuel. I get a fuel surcharge but not all of it. They take money out of every check to cover the claims that I will never get back. I never gave them permission nor did I sign anything. Is this legal?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Dan! We wonder if you are even an employee. Most long distance drivers are independent contractors (1099 workers) which means they are not employees and are not protected by most employment laws. If you are an independent contractor, they can deduct almost anything from your wages, as long as it was agreed to in your original contract with them.

If you are genuinely an employee (paid by the hour rather than the job) then you should contact the U.S. Department of Labor at http://www.dol.gov or the Industrial Commission of Arizona at http://www.ica.state.az.us/ for more specific answers to your questions. Either way, the long-term solution may be to find a better employer. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

We have an employee who called in sick, she has a disability, and also works and collects disability. She said the Dr. told her she cannot go back to work for one month. This would put a bind on our business, as we need this type of person. Woud it go against State or Federal laws, to let her go and hire someone who can work, because of the need we have.
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

Addendum: This is what I forgot to tell you is that she has only worked for us for 8 months.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sylvia! Under some circumstances, you may be able to fire this employee, but you should exercise caution here. The employee apparently has a disability under ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act. That law requires the employer to make reasonable accommodations for an employee with a disabilty. In many cases, unpaid time off is a reasonable accommodation. An employee is covered by ADA from the first day of employment.

An employer is not required to make any accommodation under ADA that is an undue hardship for the employer. Usually that is a financial decision. For example, installing a $300,000 elevator would be an undue hardship for many small employers, but not for a large company like Microsoft or IBM.

In your case, it might very well be a reasonable accommodation to give this employee a month off, unpaid. Even if it is more expensive for you to hire a temporary worker (or one from a temp agency) to cover this position for a few weeks, that may not be enough to meet the legal definition of an undue hardship. Another accommodation might be to cross-train an employee and pay him or her overtime to fill in for this position. Again, both of those would be considered reasonable accommodations even though they cost the company more money.

If this position was vacant for several weeks in the past, it is going to be difficult or impossible for you to show that allowing the employee to take a month off is an undue hardship. It is not uncommon for an employee to be granted several months off as a reasonable accomodation.

However, sometimes unpaid leave can be an undue hardship for the employer. If the employee has unique skills that would be difficult or impossible to replace (especially if the company is very small) then unpaid time off may be an undue hardship. Right now, we cannot think of any examples, but it is possible. You may want to consult an attorney specializing in employment law or the EEOC before terminating this employee. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

Read more about unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation under ADA at: http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/accommodation.html#leave and more about accommodations at http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/accommodation.html
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

We do have another handicapped person working for us right now, besides the one that is hospitalized. We knew of some of her disabilities, but this certain one she made no mention of. It would put a hardship on us to not rehire someone for her position. We need to have patients seen and counseled. Mandates by the State and Federal licenses that we are licensed by have a necessity for us to follow up on patients being seen. There is currently no one in our office to work as a overtime or considered applicable to take her place. We would have to hire someone. We have done nothing wrong in any place as far as hiring handicapped or making our office handicapped ready. But this puts us in a position of not having a person to cover this position and the needs of the office. Hiring a temp is out of the question, because of the special needs we have in training such a person would take a good three months to do. I just know that this is something we have to address right away.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sylvia! Thanks for the update! In that case, because the job requires specialized knowledge and extensive training, and you are under government mandates to provide services, it may be that allowing the unpaid time off would be an undue hardship for your organization.

Just a reminder — there is no obligation for an applicant to reveal her disabilities before being hired. If she did, it would be illegal discrimination for you to consider them as a factor in the selection process.

Just playing devil’s advocate for a moment, you seem to be fairly certain you can rehire someone for this position. What would keep you from offering that person a temporary position? If you are under federal mandates to provide services, it probably is not wise to have only one employee who is able to do so. (What happens if that employee gets sick? Goes on vacation? Takes maternity leave?) Even though many companies run with lean staffing today, it is unwise to have a critical position with no backup available. If you fire this employee, and she files a discrimination complaint with the EEOC, these are the kinds of questions they will ask. But if you feel you have a strong rebuttal, fire away! HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: VCKasten

I worked for a Temp Agency (in Phoenix, AZ) and after quitting did not receive my final paycheck; which was due to me November 26, 2010. After leaving voice messages and emails with every supervisor / member of HR that I could call; I just got that check in the mail today, Saturday, March 5, 2011.

What are my legal rights concerning this situation and pressuring the company into issuing a valid paycheck, as it is now void since 90 days have passed since it was printed?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi VCKasten! This situation has already gone on way too long. You are entitled to payment for all the hours you worked, under both the federal and Arizona minimum wage laws. Arizona wage payment laws require that you be paid your final paycheck on the next payday or within 3 working days, whichever is sooner, if you were fired. If you quit, you were due payment on the next regular payday. An employer who issues an expired check (or an invalid check) has not satisfied this requirement.

Contact the employer and explain that the check you received is no longer valid. Tactfully request another check. It might be wiser for you to pick up the new check, if possible, to avoid delivery problems. If that is not possible, give the employer the correct address for delivery. Tell the empoyer you would prefer not to take this matter to the Arizona Labor Commission, but you will if necessary. You will probably have to relinquish the old check in order to receive the new one.

If the employer refuses, or if you do not have a valid paycheck in your hands within two weeks, file a wage complaint with the Arizona Labor Commissioner at http://www.ica.state.az.us/Labor/Labor_main.aspx. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

Read more about this at: http://www.ica.state.az.us/Labor/Labor_WagClm_FAQs_Wage_Payment_Laws.aspx
Posted by: Katherine

My fiancé was in the hospital recently for another blood clot in his leg, they put him back on Coumadin. Well the other day he had a allergic reaction (I guess) to the meds. Around 3 PM he got to the point where he could not move his arms or legs and was extremely tired. He tried for hours to see if it would go away but it just got worse. Well, he called off work after his start time because he was going to the ER. The new manager who is trying to turn the store around, wrote him up. He said in the write up it actually said that he called off work for being at the ER.

Now my question: I know Arizona is a right to work state, but can he actually be written up for that????
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Katherine! Can your fiancé be written up for taking a day off to go to the ER? That depends.

If the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles, then your fiancé is probably entitled to unpaid, job-protected leave under the federal FMLA for a serious health condition. Usually a condition that results in 3 days of incapacity, surgery, overnight hospitalization or multiple visits to the doctor with ongoing prescription medication is a serious health condition. An employee is entitled to up to 12 weeks of FMLA per year, and it need not be taken all at once.

Unfortunately, there is no Arizona family leave law that applies to smaller employers. Each employer establishes their own expectations regarding the number of sick days an employee can take. An employee who takes more days off work, even with the best reason in the world, can be disciplined or terminated for non-attendance (or absenteeism.)

Under FMLA, an employee is required to follow the same call-in procedures as for any other absence. If the employer requires that workers call 2 hours before the scheduled shift, an employee on FMLA can be required to do so, also. In this case, it was fairly obvious before the shift that your fiancé would not be reporting to work. It is usually impossible to work if you cannot move your arms or legs. So your fiancé should have phoned his manager before the shift started, or had you phone for him. Even if he were entitled to FMLA, he could be written up for not following company policy to report an absence prior to the start of the shift.

If your fiancé is terminated for excessive absenteeism due to medical issues, he may qualify for unemployment benefits. If he has a permanent disability, he may qualify for unpaid time off as a reasonable accommodation under ADA, the Americans with Disabilites Act. However, in most cases he would still have to call before the shift to say that he will not be there. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Chris

has anyone delt with the labor board here they have been working on my case for 15 months now we only get 25% of whats owed because the contractor we worked for went under it was a federal job and theY held a bond worth 1.2 million now they say they had to get it from the primary contractor AND THE ONLY WILL PAY 25% OF WHATS OWED WHEN I TALK TO THEM “WAGE AND HOURLY DIVISION ” THEY WONT TELL ME ANYTHING EXCEPT THAT THEY HAVE THE MONEY AND ITS A PROCESS SOONER OR LATER ILL GET IT I HAVE NOT RECEIVED EVEN A SIMPLE LETTER FROM THEM AND I REALLY FEEL SCAMMED THEY TOOK A HUGE BOND WHERE DID THAT MONEY GO I FEEL THAT SOMETHING CRIMINAL IS GOING ON
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Chris! It sounds like you got a bum deal, and you have our sympathy. Unfortunately, when a company goes out of business, even the state or federal department of labor cannot “get blood out of a turnip”, as the old saying goes. If the employer was still operating, they could be required to pay back wages. If you feel that the money from the employer’s surety bond has been misued or embezzled, you could hire an attorney to sue the employer. Or, you could try to interest a newspaper in the story. You might be able to file a complaint with the state Attorney General or the U.S. Department of JusticeHTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

If by the State or Federal laws for labor laws, we have a employee who has been summoned by a patients lawyer for her to testify on her behalf. When this does happen who is responsible for the employee being off, are we responsible for her wages when she is off testifying or is that on the part of the lawyer?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi again Sylvia! If the employee were testifying on the employer’s behalf, or as part of her normal job duties, then it would be appropriate for you to pay her. However, in this case it sounds like her testimony is outside her normal job duties, and she is being called as a witness about a private matter that does not relate to you as an employer. In that case, she should be given the day off to testify, but you are not responsible for paying her wages for the day. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

I as an employer has reaped a lot from your blogs, I thank you.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sylvia! You are very welcome!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

We have in the past week did a budget assessment. We have to lay off or fire which ever fits a person who is on vacation. I will notify him by phone. We do not want this person getting anymore pay, we as a company can’t afford to give. Are there any laws that prohibit this type of firing. It has happen to me years ago.
Posted by: Sylvia L Campbell

How often can an employee change their tax deductions? A single employee, I have an employee who wants to change their tax deduction only for a week
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sylvia! Unfortunately, we are shutting down the comments section of this blog. Our staff will continue to respond to questions or concerns posted as comments on http://www.humanresourceblog.com. You can post your question or comment there. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

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labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Arizona Labor Law Board

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