STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kenzie · Chanel

Is this legal?

Farrah · Marc Jacobs

No it is not. If you were required to work they have to pay you for it. Regardless of whether there was food or not.

Elle · Hermes

Farrah wrote:

No it is not. If you were required to work they have to pay you for it. Regardless of whether there was food or not.

Agreed, without a doubt. Do you have a CYA (Cover Your Ass) file, per chance? If you do, this sounds like prime material for it!

kenzie · Chanel

Elle wrote:

Farrah wrote:

No it is not. If you were required to work they have to pay you for it. Regardless of whether there was food or not.

Agreed, without a doubt. Do you have a CYA (Cover Your Ass) file, per chance? If you do, this sounds like prime material for it!

Well, I definitely have documentation that I was at meetings. So, how can I get paid for this time that they are refusing to pay me for?

cahabo · Kate Spade

If I were you I'd contact your state's Department of Labor and Industries. All states have them right? They should be able to help you. Don't let your employer get away with this!

Cricket · Gucci

Is your boss saying he won't pay you because he didn't authorize the meeting? Did you tell him beforehand what was going on? He might have a way around paying you if you didn't clear it with him first. It sucks, though. Hope you get paid!

kenzie · Chanel

Cricket wrote:

Is your boss saying he won't pay you because he didn't authorize the meeting? Did you tell him beforehand what was going on? He might have a way around paying you if you didn't clear it with him first. It sucks, though. Hope you get paid!

No, I don't need authorization from him for that kind of thing. He's telling me I'm not going to get paid b/c no matter what, they won't pay me for any kind of lunch break, whether I take one or not, which is not in the company handbook or anything. I am not required to take a lunch break and I'm supposed to get paid if I don't take one.

But they don't want any of the women in the company to work overtime (also not in the handbook or any written policies-- just an arbitrary rule they made up as they went along) and they take away hours from me whenever they feel like it. I've not gotten paid for a few hours of time that I actually worked at an event. I pitched a major fit about it and they gave me an extra hour or something, but not all of the time I actually worked.

AllieGurl · Marc Jacobs

contact the state labor board and see what your options are. Perhaps also contact your HR department. They are there to cover the ass of the company and prevent lawsuits , so they should be on your side.

If you were given the opportunity to take a break later in the day after your meetings ended (even though it wasnt at a lunch hour) and you elected not to take the break although your company requires it, then they may have grounds to not pay you. The break isnt about WHEN you take it , as long as you are given an opportunity during the course of the day to take the break.

Let us know what happens!

zeitgeist4 · Gucci

I am also paid by the hour instead of being salaried. One morning there was bad traffic so I was late to work and I asked if I could just skip lunch (so I'd still get paid the full 8 hrs), and they said no, by law I have to take a lunch break. So based on that, I think what your company did is not legal.

kenzie · Chanel

zeitgeist4 wrote:

I am also paid by the hour instead of being salaried. One morning there was bad traffic so I was late to work and I asked if I could just skip lunch (so I'd still get paid the full 8 hrs), and they said no, by law I have to take a lunch break. So based on that, I think what your company did is not legal.

Actually, according to PA state labor laws, it isn't required to take a break. I've been doing research on this. Laws differ from state to state, I'm sure. There have been other times when I've not taken a lunch and been paid for it. It's only required that you take a break if you are under 18, which obviously, I'm not.

I am not required to take a break if I don't want to, nor was I offered the opportunity (or told) to take a break at another time. So, I'm pretty sure that they have to pay me for all of the time worked.

We don't really have an HR department, unfortunately, and I know that there is a lot of illegal stuff that goes on b/c of it. We have an HR person, but they aren't all that trained in HR. I'm going to talk to them anyway and see what happens.

carmenb513 · Coach

That sucks that it is not required. But anywho Kenzie it's time to blow that hot dog stand. They sound like sexist cheap pigs.

Hope you do get some resolve.