New employer isn’t paying what they agreed upon... is this legal?

Employment Law Forum
1

I’ve been working in Idaho for company A for 6 years, and my pay was $40/hr. They merged with a national company based in California. The contract I signed said I would continue at $40/hr. However, one week later, I was informed verbally that the pay would be reduced to $30/hr, but I didn’t need to sign anything. Now, I’m being paid $25/hr without any written notice, just verbal discussions. Is this legal? I never got the $30/hr, only the $25. I asked the company in California, and they said they can change wages at any time without warning. Is that true? Is this legal?

2

Guidance on Idaho law indicates that if your pay is reduced, the employer has to notify you before you work at the new rate. If you were told you’d be paid $40 but only received $25, and then told later about the change, you might be able to claim the difference in pay up until the notice of the $25/hr rate was given.

3

It depends on the state. I’m a wage investigator in South Carolina. Here, employers can reduce wages, but they must give at least a 7-day written notice before the change takes place.

4

Hart said:
It depends on the state. I’m a wage investigator in South Carolina. Here, employers can reduce wages, but they must give at least a 7-day written notice before the change takes place.

Just curious… if they don’t give notice, does the lower pay rate on checks after 7 days count as notice?

5

@Yan
Yes

6

Actual employment contracts are rare in the US. Signed offer letters or handbooks aren’t binding contracts. Unless you have a formal contract, employers can change your pay rate. They can’t change it for hours already worked, but they must notify you before the change applies to future hours worked. If they told you about the pay change before you worked the hours, it’s usually legal.

7

Unless you have a formal contract, employers can change pay rates. The only requirement in most places is that they give notice of the change.

8

Yan said:
Unless you have a formal contract, employers can change pay rates. The only requirement in most places is that they give notice of the change.

Does the notice need to be written or is verbal enough?