Can my employer decrease my hourly wage?
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Can my employer decrease my hourly wage?
I let my boss know that I was leaving my job instead of paying me my usual
$13/hr, she paid me minimum wage for my very last payment without any notice. Can I sue or should I just contact labor and wages? I’ve been trying to get in contact with someone. She also held my W2 from me way past the date she was supposed to send them out. She said she was not mailing anyone who left her business.
Asked on March 1, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Absent a union/collective bargaining agreement or employment contract that guarantees a worker a certain wage rate, an employer can decrease such a rate "at will" with no notice for any reason or no reason at all. That having been said, such a decrease cannot be made retroactively (i.e. after the fact). This means that if an employee's wage is going to be reduced, it can only be for work yet to be performed, not for work that has already completed.
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