Employer Said I'd get $12 per hour...

[MissNemo]

In a job interview the manager told me I'd be getting $11 per hour with an increase to $12 per hour on October 1st as the company is raising the starting wage.
I accepted the job. Now the top guy says there will be no raises until January 1st 2023.
Is that legal?

[disneysteve]

Do you have it in writing? If not, nothing you can really do about it. At least you’ll get the increase soon. Sorry if they misrepresented the pay. Is the job otherwise good or are you finding other things they are shady about?

[MissNemo]

I wrote it on a piece of paper that day at the interview. An assistant manager was there too. On October 1st I asked the manager, Did I get the raise? She said I'd need to wait until I receive my check. When I didn't get the raise the manager called Human resources to inquire about it. The Big gun sent a very wordy email saying basically no one gets anything until after the first of the year.

[ua_guy]

Employers can pretty much do anything they want with employee pay provided it isn't a violation of any employment contract, union negotiation, or any state/federal labor laws. This can include reducing pay, delaying or simply not giving raises (unless agreed to in contract), they can remove performance incentives, and change benefit packages.

$12/hr and that kind of treatment sounds like the kind of job I'd leave the same day if I found another that pays even $0.25 more per hour. But only you can decide what you need to do from here; sorry it worked out this way, I can understand how disappointed you must feel.

[MissNemo]

Thank you for helping me out here. I agree....if I didn't like the job I would have walked out. If I told you the company you may laugh or something. LOL

[ua_guy]

Thank you for helping me out here. I agree....if I didn't like the job I would have walked out. If I told you the company you may laugh or something. LOL

Work is work, I wouldn't laugh at that at all. But the job market in the US is generally such that employers are having to compete for lower-wage workers (for example, where I'm at, minimum wage is almost $19/hr), so if there are many other employers hiring for similar jobs, I wouldn't see a need to stick with one that is not being competitive in terms of pay. Liking your job is worth something though, I can understand that.

[MissNemo]

The company is the Salvation Army. I'm actually ashamed of them.

[disneysteve]

The company is the Salvation Army. I'm actually ashamed of them.

Sorry they lied to you like that. I agree that liking your job is important, but working for $12/hr in this job market probably makes no sense. Lots and lots of places are hiring and many are paying well more than that to start. I hope you're still out there searching for something better.

[myrdale]

First and foremost, if it's not in writing, it didn't happen. Just because you jotted down a note is pointless if your manager didn't sign it.

Secondly he said you would get a pay increase in October when the company raises its starting wage. From how I read your comments, the company did not raise starting wages, therefore your pay did not increase.

Anyone who considers an increase in minimum wages the equivalent to getting a raise, is wrong.

I should imagine you're extremely passionate about your job and it is important to you. But I am willing to bet you can find another job with a 50% starting pay increase within the week.

If you're ashamed of them, then you need to quit and find another job at once. It seems like a lot of moral judgement over not getting a $1 extra per hour. Also keep in mind your boss may not have known what he was talking about when he said there was going to be a $1 raise to starting pay. And you said the word on pay increases came from the top. Is the top just the guy who runs the local store you work at or is it Brian Peddle?

Lastly, it might be a bit judgemental on my part, but one's decision to seek employment with a charity and then complaining you're not getting what you deserve seems a bit disingenuous.

You need to find another job.

[Snicks]

Employment is at will either way. What are your options? Go in and have a second talk to the manager and say you would like them to honor that. If they say no, then you have to decide to keep the job as is or stay until you find something better or just walk away now. There are plenty of jobs you should be able to find $12 and up

[crazyliblady]

In a job interview the manager told me I'd be getting $11 per hour with an increase to $12 per hour on October 1st as the company is raising the starting wage.
I accepted the job. Now the top guy says there will be no raises until January 1st 2023.
Is that legal?

I would keep a written record of these conversations. Also, are there any written employer documents regarding pay of employees. For example, job or position descriptions that may state the minimum pay range?

[rennigade]

People are saying OP should find another job that pays more when some on here specifically stated you should not select a job based on pay. Wut?

[ua_guy]

Wut? The answer probably depends on the situation. LOL

[james.hendrickson]

Wut? Wut?

[disneysteve]

People are saying OP should find another job that pays more when some on here specifically stated you should not select a job based on pay. Wut?

You should not select a job based solely on pay but it should certainly be a factor in choosing a position. In this case, OP has discovered that she was misled when accepting the position. That's cause for concern. Couple that with the lousy pay and there is at least good reason to be reconsidering the job.