Texas Employment Legal Questions

An employer can reduce your wages as long as it notifies you of the reduction before you work the hours.  It cannot reduce your wages after you have worked the hours.  If you have some proof of your original offer of pay at $12.00, then you may want to consider filing a Texas Payday Act complaint with the Texas Workforce Commisison - Labor Law Department, they can require the employer to pay you the difference in the two rates for up to 180s back in time (assmuming you worked there that long).  However, be advised, if you worked additional days after you got your first paycheck at $11.50 you may be deemed to have accepted the wage cut.... Read More

There are three steps you must timely complete within the Texas Workforce Commission process before you file suit.  1) your initial application is filed an either granted or denied; 2) if you or your former employer is dissatisfied with the result in #1 and if that party timely requests a hearing, a telephone hearing will be held by a TWC hearing officer and a new ruling issued; 3) if either party is dissatisfied with the hearing officer's ruling and if that party timely appeals the ruling, the 3 members of the Texas Workforce Commission will review the hearing officer's decision (no new hearing) and will determine whether it was correct or not. If you timely complete all of the above, and you still don't get the answer you want, you can sue your ex-employer and the TWC (you have to sue both) in the District Court in the county in which you live.  If you (or your former employer) miss any deadline in this process (they are ususally printed on the decision forms) you are finished and stuck with the last result. Good luck.... Read More

An employer can only withhold a paycheck or amounts due on a paycheck for taxes and court ordered child support, unless the employee has signed a written agreement giving permission for the employer to do so.  Even with written permission, the employer cannot withhold the entire paycheck or so much of it that the employee does not effectively make minimum wage for the period of time reflected in the paycheck. Contact the Texas Workforce Commission - Labor Law Department regarding a "Payday Act" complaint if you employer continues to refuse to pay you.  You have only 180 days from the subject paycheck to do so.... Read More

If you are an at-will employee (ie you don't have a contract or are not a member of a union with a contract with the employer) your employer can change the terms and conditions of your employment (hours, work location, pay, duties, position, uniform etc) at any time for any reason or no reason (just not because of your race, sex, age, religion, disability etc.) as long as such change is effective into the future only.  The employer cannot change pay or other benefits for periods which the employee has already worked.  If the employer changes your terms and conditions on a go-forward basis and you show up for work after those changes are put into effect, you are deemed to have accepted them. The one exception to the above, in your particular case, is if your offer letter contains language which expressly restricts the employer's right to do what I just described.  Good luck.... Read More

Yes, but in some cases the employer must pay the regular and/or overtime rate for the on-call time.  There are lots of ins and outs here, but the general rule is that if the employee is "on-call" but is otherwise free to pursue his non-work activities, he is not required to be paid until he is called in.  However, if the "on-call" status substantially restricts his non-work activities he may be entitled to pay for those on-call hours. As to whether the employer can require the employee to be available or on-call, the answer is generally "yes".  ... Read More

Not sure how this is going to appear on your end.  I tried to send a second part to my response but the system wouldn't let me. Anyway, some employers try to scam the system.  They do this a couple of different ways, one of which involves Comp. Time, where the employer gives an employee time off in either the same amount or 1.5 times the amount of the overtime incurred.  This is illegal unless the employer is a government agency.  By the way there is nothing wrong with Comp. Time if your husband is truly an exempt employee.  In that case, the employer doesn't really owe him the comp time, unless its part of a contract, and the employer can set the rules on when he gets to use it.  In that case there is no requirement (again, unless it is in a contract) that the employer pay the comp. time in lieu of letting him use it. My greater concern is that the employer is gaming the system with your husband in another way, ie it is calling him a salaried/exempt employee when he really isn't and thus the employer is avoiding its obligation to pay overtime.  There are serious penalties for this.  This situation appears all the more likely in that there was no change in his duties between the time he was hourly and when he became salaried.  If you think this is a concern, you can make a complaint to the US Department of Labor - wage and hour division or you can locate a private attorney who is experienced in labor and employment law to explain your remedies further.  ... Read More

No.  An  employer can reduce your hourly rate for hours you have not yet worked, and if you work those future hours you are deemed to have accepted the adjusted rate.  However, an employer cannot reduce the rate for hours already worked.  Once you have gotten your final paycheck, contact the Texas Workforce Commission - Labor Law Department and ask to file a Payday Act complaint.  It may take several weeks to process but it will cost you little or nothing.  You can also sue your employer for breach of contract, but the cost of doing so would be significant. Good luck.  ... Read More

There is no black and white limit to the number of hours an employer can make an employee work each day.  However, when the number of hours worked by the employee in a single week exceeds 40, the employer must pay the employee 1.5 times his or her normal hourly rate for each hour in excess of 40.  By way of example, if the employer required an employee to work four ten-hour days in a row in a single week, then let the employee off the remainder of the week, no overtime would be due.  If that same employer worked that employee addtional days in the same week, he would have to pay him or her overtime for all hours on those additional days.  An private employer cannot avoid the overtime requirement by making an employee work more than 40 hours in a week and then giving him or her time off the next week (the rule is different for a government employer).... Read More

Short Answer - no this is not legal.  Make your complaint to the U.S. Department of Labor - Wage and Hour Division.  There is an office in each of the big cities in Texas.  The DFW office is in Arlington.  If he his going to dock the tip pool, he will need to pay you and all the other tipped employees the full $7.25 per hour.... Read More

The asking is not the illegal part - the using of that information to discrimnate is.  Its hard to tell from your question, but it appears that you may be an employer.  It also sounds like this clinic may be a vendor of sorts.  Assuming I am correct as to both of the forgoing, I would make sure the vendor never discloses to the employer the employees' answer to this question.  If you don't have the information, it would be much easier to defend a religious discrimination claim brought by the employee at a later date.... Read More

If your employer deducts California state taxes from your check, you probably need to file your claim with whatever agency handles unpaid wage claims in that state.  Further, if you perform your work from California, that state would have jurisdiction over your claims.  In Texas, an employer must pay an involuntarily terminated employee within 7 days from termination and pay a voluntarily terminated employee on the next regular pay date.  The Texas Workforce Commission - Labor Law Department will process a Texas employee's wage claim without charge.  They woud probably refer you to the California agency if you are not a Texas employee.... Read More

An employer is not permitted to withold any amount from your paycheck (except taxes and court ordered child support) unless he has your express written consent to do so.  The Texas Workforce Commission - Labor Law Department will process your claim (called a PayDay Act Claim) for free.  You have 180 days to make the complaint.  The process takes several weeks.... Read More

I'm affraid there is little you can do on an emergency basis.  However, an employer may not deduct any amounts from the employee's paycheck (including withholding the whole thing) without express written permission to do so.  Even if such written permission has been given, the employer cannot withhold an amount that would result in the employee receiving less than minimum wage for the time period(s) refelcted by the check.  The Texas Workforce Commission - Labor Law Department will handle your claim for free, but it takes several weeks.... Read More