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American Employer withholding pay
WolfSong2000
Posts: 1,736 Forumite
Okay...to cut a long story short, I spent the summer working in the USA on a student visa (I'm born and bred British). Just got back on monday.
Last friday I went to the store where I'd been working to collect what I assumed was my final cheque. The store had messed me about the previous weekend (put me down for a shift starting at 8:30am - takes me an hour and a half to get to work). When I arrived, however, they told me they didn't need me and for me to go home. I received no pay at all for that day. The next day I lasted 4 hours before they said the same thing (it was the weekend of 9/11 and the store I worked at was right next to the White House, so customers were staying away in case of another terrorist attack and as a result the store was dead quiet).
Anyhow, the day after I go to pick up the cheque, I get a call at 3pm from the store manager asking me to go pick up *another* cheque as she had "forgotten" that I had worked last sunday. To clarify she makes the rotas, so not quite sure how she "forgot" :mad:. Anyhow, she then asked if I could come back into the store and collect the money in cash as she knew I was leaving the next day.(which would mean wasting at least 3 hours of my time plus transport fare). I was also in the middle of an outing with friends, so there was no way I could make it to the store. Add to this I'd already worked on trying to close my US bank account (whole other saga!), which had been complicated because they'd given me the other cheque so late. Instead I politely asked that she post me the cash and deduct the cost of the postage from the pay amount. This was refused. I the asked whether they would do a direct deposit, and this was also refused. The implication was that unless I went and collected the money myself, in person, I wasn't getting the money.
Can they do this? Withhold my money? And also, can they refuse to pay me for the previous weekend, where I wasted 3 hours of my time plus transport fare only to get to work and be told they didn't need me? Even the manager admitted she "should have called me". :mad: How do I go about getting the money I am owed?
Last friday I went to the store where I'd been working to collect what I assumed was my final cheque. The store had messed me about the previous weekend (put me down for a shift starting at 8:30am - takes me an hour and a half to get to work). When I arrived, however, they told me they didn't need me and for me to go home. I received no pay at all for that day. The next day I lasted 4 hours before they said the same thing (it was the weekend of 9/11 and the store I worked at was right next to the White House, so customers were staying away in case of another terrorist attack and as a result the store was dead quiet).
Anyhow, the day after I go to pick up the cheque, I get a call at 3pm from the store manager asking me to go pick up *another* cheque as she had "forgotten" that I had worked last sunday. To clarify she makes the rotas, so not quite sure how she "forgot" :mad:. Anyhow, she then asked if I could come back into the store and collect the money in cash as she knew I was leaving the next day.(which would mean wasting at least 3 hours of my time plus transport fare). I was also in the middle of an outing with friends, so there was no way I could make it to the store. Add to this I'd already worked on trying to close my US bank account (whole other saga!), which had been complicated because they'd given me the other cheque so late. Instead I politely asked that she post me the cash and deduct the cost of the postage from the pay amount. This was refused. I the asked whether they would do a direct deposit, and this was also refused. The implication was that unless I went and collected the money myself, in person, I wasn't getting the money.
Can they do this? Withhold my money? And also, can they refuse to pay me for the previous weekend, where I wasted 3 hours of my time plus transport fare only to get to work and be told they didn't need me? Even the manager admitted she "should have called me". :mad: How do I go about getting the money I am owed?
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Comments
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I doubt if they will pay anything for the wasted travel time.
As for the wages for when you actually worked, try contacting bodies like the 'Better Business Bureau' for the relevant area.0 -
The appropriate department in the US is the Department of Labor (this being ACAS with teeth - blunt teeth because their laws are commonly weaker than ours) - BBB is the equivalent of the OFT, neither of which refulate employment matters. The department of Labor do have enforcement powers, and there are laws which require payment for hours worked, but my knowledge of them is sketchy0
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lol, they didn't withhold any money. All incompetence from the manager aside, the cash was there for you to collect. If it was that important you'd have gone and got it.0
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Gordon_Hose wrote: »lol, they didn't withhold any money. All incompetence from the manager aside, the cash was there for you to collect. If it was that important you'd have gone and got it.
But I couldn't get there - I was only called after 3pm (manager must have known since at least that morning) and I was miles away, having a day out with friends and their kids as it was my last full day in the USA. I had no car to get to the store and there was no public transport nearby. All this was explained to the manager. Plus I don't see why I should have to waste my time and money for yet another screw-up on my manager's part!0 -
The little I know about US law is that it is clear - an employer is obliged to pay you for hours worked. It is their problem how they pay you, but pay they must. In relation to pay their laws are stricter than ours - in the US there is no such thing as unpaid overtime. And I think I am saying that overtime in the US must attract an enhanced rate (but willing to be corrected - it's a lot of years since I looked at their laws, and it wasn't in detail then!).0
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ask thtem to do a Bank transfer...and you will cover the costs.0
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I guess at the end of the day I can't see how you are going to fight this one, being on this side of the atlantic.
I think you would also need to fact how you would get your pay cheque converted into sterling - as I can imagine that your former employer, if forced to pay you would pay in a US$ cheque.
Personally I would chalk this up to expereince.2014 Target;
To overpay CC by £1,000.
Overpayment to date : £310
2nd Purse Challenge:
£15.88 saved to date0 -
mountainofdebt wrote: »I guess at the end of the day I can't see how you are going to fight this one, being on this side of the atlantic.
I think you would also need to fact how you would get your pay cheque converted into sterling - as I can imagine that your former employer, if forced to pay you would pay in a US$ cheque.
Personally I would chalk this up to expereince.
I am hoping to get them to do a bank transfer, which would be easiest all-round...I would normally just let it lie, but the manager screwed me over so badly the previous weekend (waiting for me to turn up to work before telling me I wasn't needed, for example), that I intend to fight for the money owed...last resort is I contact the guy who initially got me the job who is good friends with the man who owns the store (who is different from the manager), but I want to leave that as a last resort!0 -
mountainofdebt wrote: »
I think you would also need to fact how you would get your pay cheque converted into sterling - as I can imagine that your former employer, if forced to pay you would pay in a US$ cheque.
Not difficult. Nationwide accepted a cheque in dollars for my account a couple of years ago. They charged me £20 for the privilege but the process was very easy.0 -
It is quite possible that the reason the manager wanted you to collect the money in person, is to thank you and wish you all the best and quite possibly give you a going away present in the form of extra cash or a gift. Your refusal to go to see her might have seemed like a snub to her.
Working in a store in their capital city close to the White House would be seen as a big privilege to many Americans so thus your unwillingness to comply with a simple request on you last day (even though it would have taken 3 hours) could be seen as disrespectful. This might have touched a nerve on the anniversary of 9/11 as you were actually a foreigner working as a guest in their country. As well as that there are a lot of Americans out of work at present.
I would send an apology and leave it at that. You might get the money. I would go to the British Embassy and explain the situation to them, if you have any doubts as to the best course of action.0
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