can I get paid two different wages if I’ve only signed for a certain wage?
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can I get paid two different wages if I’ve only signed for a certain wage?
I am currently getting paid a certain wage due to a pay cut. My employer now says
they are only going to pay me for whats on ticket which we have signed. Any hours
after that, for instance, if I haul tools or have any work to do in the shop they
only want to pay me 10 an hour. My normal wage is 22.50 an hour. Thats a 10
pay cut from the original 25 an hour I was making. I just wanna know if this is
legal? And if not what can I do so I dont lose my job or worse.
Asked on March 30, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
If you have an actual written employment contract for a definite time (e.g. a one-year contract) signed by both you and your employer, you can enforce its terms, and the employer would have to pay you any wage in the contract. If not, they may change your wage at will, reduce it in whole or part, pay you different wages for different shifts or work, etc., subject only to having to always pay minimum wage and having to pay overtime (time-and-half) for any work past 40 hours in a week. (If you are paid two different wages, overtime is based on a blended rate: if you earch $30/hour for 20 hours and $10/hour for another 20, then your blended rate is $20/hour so overtime would be calcualted off that.)
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