Can Employer Cut Pay?

ddshop · July 2003

A company that I am involved with hired my sister to clean their facility after another employee quit the position. The employer had an interview with my sister in which they told her what they were willing to pay per month and showed her what needed to be cleaned and what days she needed to clean them. Both agreed to the pay, the work, and the schedule. She was hired. My sister cleaned two days and was told she was doing a good job and doing things correctly. She had been working 4 or 5 days when her boss called her at home and said they need to review her pay because of a complaint of one board member that the pay was too high. I would like to know if they can reduce her pay after agreeing to pay her a specific ammount - an amount of their creation not hers. Is this is legal? The company is a Elks owned golf course in Kansas.

JanH · July 2003

Is this an "At Will" state? Also, did she sign any type of hiring contract stating what her specific pay would be? That would probably be her only recourse; however, companies can cut pay as long as it is non-discriminatory.

ddshop · July 2003

Thanks for your help. Yes, Kansas is an "At Will" state. The only document she signed was an application for employment requested after the company agreed to hire her per their conditions. She said there was no mention of wages on the application.

Margaret Morford · July 2003

She also has the option to tell them she can't work for that amount of money and see if they change their mind. If they don't, she ought to look for a new job. They've not treated her well.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

LeeR · July 2003

In this situation it looks as though they can cut her pay. She has to be given the option of accepting the pay cut or not. I also agree with Maragret. Not a good employer to work for. I would look elsewhere.

Brad Forrister · July 2003

They probably can't reduce her pay retroactively. For the few days she's already been working, they'll have to pay her at the original rate. But absent a contract, an employer can generally lower an employee's pay
prospectively.

Brad Forrister
Director of Publishing
M. Lee Smith Publishers

ddshop · July 2003

Thank you for that...I was wondering about that too. So are they obligated morally or legally to pay for the time she's already worked at the agreed to pay rate?

Margaret Morford · July 2003

Yes. Old rate up until they notified her of the change.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

ddshop · July 2003

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 07-08-03 AT 10:36PM (CST)[/font][p]Oh thank you all so much for all the info. At least we know where she stands now. What a blessing this forum has been. I've passed all this info on to my sister. The "meeting" is tonight. I'm sad to see a good opportunity like this work out like it has for her. My sis has had a very hard last two years. Our kids don't always turn out like we pray they will and one of theirs is really dragging them down. Her husband also works two jobs and had surgery 2.5 weeks ago. He can't go back to work for two more weeks. She's been trying to find another job - it was a miracle this one came up just in time. But sadly it was too good to be true. But God is always good. Yesterday Wal-Mart called her for a job interview! She goes in tomorrow.

Again, thank you all for your help; I will update you as to how it all turns out.

ddshop · July 2003

Update: The meeting came and went. The employer never showed up. Just another night of cleaning...

lorrie · July 2003

What happens since they did not show? I hope this means that she gets to stay at her original rate of pay.

I agree that they were not treating her right by trying to cut her pay, but I also understand that a 'not quite right' job can still be the best deal in town. (Especially in a small Kansas town without a lot of other options.)

I also understand about wayward children. I wish her well.

ddshop · July 2003

Thank you Lorri. We don't know exactly what this means yet. We can only speculate. I hope it's not a case where her boss didn't show up because she didn't want to confront her in person...then still cut her pay. She has never been formally notified of the cut yet. I hope I'm thinking the worse here...it could very well be that her pay is going to stay the same and they didn't see any reason then to meet with her. Maybe it's been taken care of and they've forgotten the whole thing. That's not very thoughtful or professional but I hope that's what happens.

Sometimes what is "the right thing to do" is the hardest thing to do. She's weighed her options and decided to take a stand. She thinks that would be the right thing to do in this situation...even though it is a sacrifice for her and her family. Wouldn't it be great if we all had that kind of guts! I hope it works out for her too. This company doesn't have a great track record and needs to be held accountable. I wouldn't even have told her about the open cleaning position if I didn't know she really needed the job because I know how this company has treated its employees in the past.

Can Employer Cut Pay?

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