When Dr. Weyant brought up the Department of Labor the other night, it got me thinking of something that happened to me early on in my career that I thought I would share. I graduated college with a Sports Management degree. After college I went to work for the New Jersey Nets basketball team. I worked there for 2 years. After 2 years I decided I wanted to pursue another opportunity. When I gave my two weeks notice I inquired about being paid for my unused vacation days and commission that earned the previous year. I was told that they would pay my vacation days, but the commission would not be paid. This did not sit well with me.
My main function was to work with existing season ticket holders in order to renew/upgrade their tickets for the upcoming season. We were paid on our renewal percentage, which that year we reached 98% renewal of all season ticket holders. I left at the end of October, which meant that it was the beginning of the season and most renewals were done.
At this point I was faced with a decision to either walk away without saying anything or fighting for the money that I knew I was owed. It important to know that I was talking about $9500 that was owed to me. I made the decision to fight for the money. After doing some research I found out the Department of Labor will go after an employer in a situation like this as long as the dollar amount being disputed is under $10,000. I felt that this was the best option since I was 24 years old and did not want to get into a legal battle with the NJ Nets.
After sending my case with all of my supporting documents off to the labor board , I know had to wait. The labor board then contacted the Nets with this information and if they failed to respond we would have went to arbitration. After they received this information, 24 hours later my phone rang and it was the CFO of the Nets calling to settle the dispute. Two weeks later I received a check for the $9500, thanks for the labor boards help.
I think this is important information to know both as employees and as future managers. My questions to the group are were you aware of this service, and have you ever been faced with this kind of situation?
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I personally have never used the Department of Labor for my own advantage but as a manager in a retail setting we are very familiar with the Department of Labor laws. We closely monitor the number of hours team members work, ensure they take their allotted breaks and meals and comply with all minor regulations as well. Plus, the Department of Labor can show up for a surprise visit whenever they want.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to see how some companies want to get away with things like these. They figure that only one in so many will go after the money, so they try to get away with it.
ReplyDeleteI was aware of the Department of Labor, but have never had to use it personally. I have come across labor related situations in which I have referred people to the Department of Labor. The two most common reasons are companies not wanting to pay unused vacation time and companies not wanting to pay overtime or trying to get away with determining overtime based on the time worked in the pay period rather than the week. Most of these cases have been with private, smaller employers. In the case of the smaller employer it MAY be a lack of knowledge and experience. As Jessica mentioned, the larger employer managers are very familiar with these laws. Whichever the case may be, that they are unfamiliar with the laws or are purposefully trying to get away from their duties, the Department of Labor makes sure the employees rights are enforced.
By the way, I am glad you got your money!
Good for you for standing up for yourself! I was not in this situation myself, but my ex-husband was. His boss (with the knowledge of the hospital's personnel manager we later found out), refused to compensate my ex's overtime hours at time-and-a-half. Since he was the only technician in the lab, it added up to a considerable amount of income due to him over the course of three years. My ex would not have known how to fight it, except a relative of his informed him of his rights and told him what to do. He pursued it, and eventually he was compensated for three years' worth of overtime that had been unpaid. If his relative hadn't explained to him what to do, he would never have seen that money.
ReplyDeleteI think the problem may be that the average person may know something's not right, but doesn't know where to go or what to do about it. They may also be afraid that their employer will find out and they will lose their job. These days workers may be more likely to keep their mouths shut and put up with a bad situation than speak up for themselves and risk losing their jobs.