Re: Is this legal?

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On 6/04/09, Ana wrote:
> Is it illegal for a company to ... have another
> group of employees (who get paid commision) do their job
> PLUS the job of those whom got let go and not get paid for
> that?
>
> This is happening to my husband. He works at a furniture
> warehouse. His job is to assemble furniture. He receives
> commision on the amount of furniture he builds. He goes in
> at 6am and until around 12pm they "run" the furniture
> which was the job of the employees who were getting paid
> hourly. So for the work he does those first hours they do
> not get paid for. Is this legal?

there might be in an issue (depending on where your husband
works) under state law.

federal law (FLSA) generally only requires "minimum wage" for
every hour worked. so, if the commissions divided by the
hours worked in a week exceed the minimum wage ($/hrs >
6.55), FLSA is satisfied (there's no federal violation).

however, it may not be legal in some states. for example, the
California labor commissioner requires pay for "every hour"
worked; so, if an employee is paid commissions -- then
required to work extra hours but not entitled to earn
commissions for that extra work -- the "unpaid" hours may
qualify as a minimum wage violation under state law. (in
california, the employer must pay at least the minimum for
EACH hour, not just pay enough to average over the minimum
for the entire workweek.)

so, if an employee is required to work for hours -- but is
not compensated for those hours -- contact your state labor
department for help.

good luck.