I hate my job!

[Sgt PSN]

I know we've made awful jokes like this a million times before, but it still feels like the first time. 

[Yeti]

Layoffs.  Man, that will give you a blue morning.  A blue day even.

[Diomedes]

If layoffs make you blue, then you've had too rosy an opinion of the security afforded by employment. 

There is no such thing.  Might as well work for yourself, it's no less reliable.

[Sgt PSN]

I started working for myself last year.  Showed up to work drunk on the first day.  Had to let myself go.  No biggie though.  Boss seemed like a douchebag anyway. 

[Tomahawk]

If layoffs make you blue, then you've had too rosy an opinion of the security afforded by employment. 

There is no such thing.  Might as well work for yourself, it's no less reliable.

I don't get it when people say shtein like, "So much for loyalty from the company." Has that really been a thing since the 70's?

[QB Eagles]

Some of the oldtimers at my military job were butthurt when I walked away from that career without having other work lined up. They saw it as a negative judgement of what they had dedicated their lives to. And they were right about that.

Best decision of my life, by the way.

[Sgt PSN]

I got a check in the mail last week from my former employer along with a letter claiming that they were audited by the Dept of Labor and owed me additional wages for overtime.  I was salaried, but had to work 50hrs/week.  Got a check for $2100 after taxes, but there was no pay sheet included with the check that showed how they came up with that number.  The letter said that cashing the check was acknowledgement on my part that all wages are up to date and to call the head of HR with questions, so I didn't cash the check and called the HR lady.  I asked if she could email me a breakdown and she said she couldn't because all she had was this massive spreadsheet with pay info for everyone else that they had to compensate.  Asked her if she could c&p my info into a new spreadsheet and send it to me and she said that she would have to check with legal, but probably not.

So then I asked her to explain to me how they came up with that amount.  She said that I was paid 1/2 time for 10 hours of o/t for each week that I worked there.  I was there just under 2 years.  I started around $21/hr and by the time I left was making $26/hr (based on a 40hr work week).  Even at my lowest pay rate, that would have been $10.50/hr x 10hrs x # of weeks I worked there, right?  I was there 23 months, so approximatey 100 weeks.  Take out say 4 weeks for vacation/sick days and that's 96 weeks. 

So $10.50 x 10 x 96 = $10,080.  And that's just using my entry level pay and not accounting for raises/promotions.  Am I figuring this correctly, because there is a HUGE difference between that and the amount they actually paid me. 

I've put in a call to the DOL because I think it's bull that they won't provide me with a breakdown of my pay and if I was understanding her explanation correctly, then they're also massively underpaying me.  Any of you guys ever deal with something like this? 

[hbionic]

Yes.

We were bought out by a competitor and they gave everyone severance pay.

Then later on, something similar...they issues 3-week's pay...but by cashing, we acknowledged we couldn't go after them legally.

I was broke so I cashed it...but that's what they're doing, they're trying to avoid you going after them for the proper amount.

farg them.

[Sgt PSN]

I guess it was too late in the day to get a call back from DOL, so I'll try again in the morning. Always thought it was shady as hell that I was working 10hr shifts, 5 days a week and getting no additional compensation. But wtf do I know about this shtein after a career in the military, right?  Plus I was new and didn't want to rock the boat and PA is a right to work state, so employers can fire you for no reason at all. So I wasn't trying to make a big stink about things.

But I literally have nothing better to do with my time now other than make phone calls to the feds and sit on hold for hours at a time. And luckily for me, I get a fat check from Uncle Sam every month so it's not hurting me to hold onto that check. Sucks that you weren't able to hold out on that one Chugster.

[hbionic]

I was young, stupid, naive, and had my head up my ass. Now, I'm just older.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Interesting.

Chuggie is right - they're trying to soothe you with a little when they owe a lot more.

Since you have the time to investigate it further I would keep doing it.

If they don't have a count and are averaging it out then they need to pay you based off of that. Otherwise they need a spreadsheet breakdown itemizing everything.

Now I am curious...my company does the same. They require us to work 7-5. We're salaried.

[Sgt PSN]

Then I guess you better hope they get audited by DOL.  lol

HR Lady said that they got my work schedule/hours worked from my former boss.  I guess possible he gave them inaccurate info since any money owed to me would probably come out of his operating budget, which would impact his annual bonus. 

[Tomahawk]

I would hate my job if I still had one. I take solace in the fact that Cat stock dropped immediately after I was laid off.

[Sgt PSN]

That sucks.  How long were you with them?  Did you get any kind of severance? 

[Sgt PSN]

I got a check in the mail last week from my former employer along with a letter claiming that they were audited by the Dept of Labor and owed me additional wages for overtime.  I was salaried, but had to work 50hrs/week.  Got a check for $2100 after taxes, but there was no pay sheet included with the check that showed how they came up with that number.  The letter said that cashing the check was acknowledgement on my part that all wages are up to date and to call the head of HR with questions, so I didn't cash the check and called the HR lady.  I asked if she could email me a breakdown and she said she couldn't because all she had was this massive spreadsheet with pay info for everyone else that they had to compensate.  Asked her if she could c&p my info into a new spreadsheet and send it to me and she said that she would have to check with legal, but probably not.

So then I asked her to explain to me how they came up with that amount.  She said that I was paid 1/2 time for 10 hours of o/t for each week that I worked there.  I was there just under 2 years.  I started around $21/hr and by the time I left was making $26/hr (based on a 40hr work week).  Even at my lowest pay rate, that would have been $10.50/hr x 10hrs x # of weeks I worked there, right?  I was there 23 months, so approximatey 100 weeks.  Take out say 4 weeks for vacation/sick days and that's 96 weeks. 

So $10.50 x 10 x 96 = $10,080.  And that's just using my entry level pay and not accounting for raises/promotions.  Am I figuring this correctly, because there is a HUGE difference between that and the amount they actually paid me. 

I've put in a call to the DOL because I think it's bull that they won't provide me with a breakdown of my pay and if I was understanding her explanation correctly, then they're also massively underpaying me.  Any of you guys ever deal with something like this? 

Realized I never followed up on this and I'm sure yous guys were all holding your breath. 

I got in touch with the guy who did the audit and long story short is that I was paid correctly.

1.  Salaried employees are only paid 1/2 time for overtime instead of time and a half. 
2.  The auditor determined that my first position with the company was eligible for overtime, but after I got promoted, that new position did not rate OT pay. 

So the amount they paid me was based on 10hrs of OT each week for roughly the first 9 months I worked there.  I definitely put in more than 50 hours each week....probably like 55....but we weren't required to clock in/out and the only way I could really prove that I worked those extra hours would be if I still had access to my work email because I could show emails that I was sending out after my normal shift ended.  Only would have been a couple hundred extra though so I'm not really sweating it.