Unpaid overtime - Forced to quit by being forced from reg position to maint.
By fitzhenry
@fitzhenry (1)
United States
October 25, 2006 11:11pm CST
DATE & TITLE OF INJUSTICE:
Ongoing the preceding 14 months.
Unpaid overtime; Forced to quit due to Gen Mgr forced me from my regular position to a position I am not qualified, experienced or trained; Underpayment of current Workers Comp benefits.
DESCRIPTION OF ISSUES:
In regards to my current employment I have been cheated out of some 8000.00 in overtime in the last year, (some $2000.00 from wages paid on the record via payroll check & nearly $6000.00 from wages paid off the record via cash, personal check & company check). I kept a record of all hours worked & pmts received to date since hired 7/2004 at a local Hotel in San Bernardino, Ca.
I was involuntarily forced from my regular Front Desk Clerk/Night Auditor position (for which I was originally hired & have remained without interruption), into a graveyard Maint. position that I am not qualified, experienced, trained or desire (as I clearly stated and emphasized repeatedly in defense to my adamant unwilling disposition when informed). Employer did not offer or provide any training, specialized or otherwise. Early Sept. 2006 2+ hrs into my shift, my presence was abruptly demanded with quiet urgency in a private quick & brief meeting with owner and newly appointed Gen. Mgr behind closed doors upstairs in owners office. Reason I point this out is because no one except the owner and his wife has ever been known or allowed upstairs for any reason whatsoever-no exceptions! Gen. Mgr, with the role of owner there in support of decision, gave me ultimatum to either accept the graveyard Maint. position or be fired. No reason or explanation whatsoever was offered and to date no response was ever given upon my numerous inquiries as to such.
On 8/9/06 (1st day of new position) during my blind forthright best effort to perform required maint duties, I was seriously injured while using a high speed floor polisher to scrub the carpets after soaking with hot soapy water applied with hand mop from bucket as specifically instructed to do so by employer. On 8/10/06 the Doctor restricted me to light DESK duty w/limits of movement, time on feet, & weight lifted, pushed or pulled along w/PT 3xWk for neck, arms, shoulders, back & R/foot & ankle. Employer denied & refused to accommodate or allow my return to work with any restrictions or limits.
I am currently receiving WC but at only half the weekly rate entitled due to the incorrect total amt of wages reported to INS co by employer who omitted all the wages paid to me in cash. Finally my current status includes completion of 9 PT sessions with 9 remaining and Doctors appointment pending.
When the Doctor releases me from all restrictions & limitations and I return back to work faced with the same ultimatum that forces me into Maint or any other position I’m not qualified to perform, as I foresee, the only option for me is to quit on the spot. I resent the Gen Mgr action and strongly feel that the motivation of her decisions are an act of retaliation against me personally and practice of discrimination against my gender and race. I also feel very strongly that the same motivation is responsible for her denial of my return to work and refusal to accommodate the Doctors work restrictions & limitation to DESK duty. For her (Gen Mgr) to accommodate the restrictions & limitations would have been a major hysterically uncomplicated simple task thereby placing me exactly in the position from where she removed me only some 24 hours prior! The irony of it all is that the unrestricted description and actual physical duties without limitations of my regular position at the Front Desk literally fall well within the restrictions and limitations as prescribed per Doctor’s orders.
I was also cheated out of reimbursement for uniform pants that employer requires employee to incur expense out of own pocket with promise of reimbursement. After submitting receipts and request for reimbursement to owner, Gen Mgr states no record of receiving such. NO other employees that I work with have received reimbursement either and were told similar statement or comment.
Would it be to my advantage to file a claim with State Dept of Industrial Relations? Why so or not? Do I have any concrete basis and grounds to successfully litigate the entirety of these matters? I truly hope so in the worst way and to full extent. I am very grateful and appreciate your time and consideration in this matter. Thank you for your attention and response. Have a great day!
THE FOLLOWING IS OTHER RELATED INFORMATION
EMPLOYER:
University Inn of America Inc. dba: Days Inn Hotel.
Licensed under Cedent Group Franchise.
STATUS OF EMPLOYMENT:
Currently employed & receiving Workers Comp Benefits.
POSITION:
Front Desk Clerk/Night Auditor
PAID:
Hourly every 2 weeks
JOB DESCRIPTION:
There is no job description contained in the Employee Handbook.
JOB POSITION DUTIES:
Front Desk Clerk Duties: Swing Shift-Open shift, verify & record cash drawer and cash deposits on file. Greet, check-in & checkout guests, collect payment for services. Handle & process guests’ requests, complaints, compliments, property problems, reservations & cancellations. Update inventory from housekeeping assignments. Physically check inventory for availability. Record entries in conversation log as necessary. Balance cash drawer, cash deposits & all payments, drop cash receipts, place cash deposits in safe & close shift.
Night Auditor Duties: Graveyard Shift and 4th shift-Same as above, Balance all receipts of the day from all shifts, process all collected payments from all shifts and deposit into a specified account. Balance and update cash receipts deposits report. Issue & process adjustments, returns & refunds. Close 3rd shift. Run audit, update the inventory and bring billings & charges and bring into start of new business day. Open 4th shift. Physically balance inventory with in house register. Generate final financial reports collate and place in perspective files. Generate & post final income & revenue reports. File daily receipts & audit docs in archive. Generate daily housekeeping assignments. Close 4th shift.
Note: Duties are NEVER given with exact details, that are always vague & rough guidelines at best which are normally incomplete and subject to change in mid-shift on a moments notice and often without ANY notice. This pertains to all positions.
WORK LOCATIONS:
I have performed worked in multiple various capacities at one time or another (all of which was paid off the record except while behind the Front Desk per schedule) both inside and outside on the Hotel property from housekeeping & prepare daily deluxe continental breakfast to removing & installing new commercial laundry washer & cutting trees down. I have performed work in multiple various capacities at one time or another (all of which was paid off the record) for the Hotel owner a mile away from Hotel at a location where 8 brand new 2 story
4BR 4BA Dbl Gar houses are situated. I have performed work both inside & outside on the property from landscaping and assembling & installing furniture and appliances to routing & installing telephone & cable lines inside & out to overseeing the construction and security of property while out of the country. I have also spent hours & days driving company or owners vehicle and escorting owner to various places throughout So. Calif. for various reasons from shopping & purchasing bulk furniture and landscape to meeting with Title Co, Tax Assessor, So. Calif. Edison Engineers & City Water Dept.
EMPLOYEE CLASSIFICATION:
Non-Exempt
WORK HOURS:
Employer sets hours & schedules. I am typically scheduled 40-48 hours per week 5-6 days a week, all of which is paid on the record via paycheck and cheated out of partial overtime worked. I was cheated out of ALL overtime worked that I was paid for off of the record. I worked a total of 3508.81 hours averaging approx 73.04 hours per week on & off the clock from 08/01/05-08/15/06.
DECISION MAKING:
I make no decisions and do what I am told.
SUPERVISION:
Am almost never supervised.
WORK ASSIGNMENTS:
There are no daily work assignments except for the Housekeepers as to which rooms need service. Those work assignments are usually generated by the Night Auditor or 1st shift Front Desk staff and occasionally by the owner or Gen Mgr.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT MAY BE OF IMPORTANCE:
As Night Auditor, I was offered shift supervisor position in Jan. 2006, which I rejected. Without notice In Feb. 2006 my hours were changed to the same as supervisor position. As a result I felt forced into the supervisor position & protested the change in writing with threat to resign. Soon thereafter my hours were resumed as previous.
In April 2006 the Gen Mgr was fired. In May 2006 an am Front Desk female was promoted to Asst. Gen Mgr who insisted that all matters go thru her. I was promoted to Asst Mgr, which included a $1.50 raise per hr. I was never given any authority so I made NO decisions and referred EVERYTHING to her. In Sept 2006 she was promoted to Gen Mgr and I was basically left hanging with no regard or recognition of my title. Then the private meeting without explanation occurred in Aug 2006 as mentioned.
3 responses
@newmama412 (590)
• United States
26 Oct 06
Check with your local department of labor. Im not sure what the laws are in your state, but it is the responsibility of the employer to prove hours worked, so if you have kept account, then they would be responsible for disproving your hourly account. As for the WC issue, I believe they don't have to allow you to return to work with light duty, but if I were you, I would contact the WC Ins company b/c they probably wont be too happy that they're paying you when the company could put you on light duty. They usually want you back to work, even if you're just answering phones. No ins. company wants to pay out money, especially when the employee can return to work, even with restrictions. As for the uniforms, if you have it in writing about the reimbursement, bring that up with dept. of labor. Otherwise, save your payment info and claim that on your taxes at the end of the year. at least that way you'll get some savings from the cost. If you truly believe you are being discriminated or retaliated against, you need to file a grievance with your company, IN WRITING, regarding the situation with your supervisor. That way, they are legally responsible to respond and try to resolve the issue. Be careful though. If yours is a right to work state, you will run into several problems. The company can do several things to make it look as though they are adressing your concerns and still push you out the door. Good luck and hopefully this helps you out a bit.
@hush5605 (674)
• United States
26 Oct 06
Hi there! I'd contact an attorney for advice and eventually pursue the matter with the Dept. of Labor. Continue saving all documentation and provide anyone you contact with whatever documentation you have accumulated and see if they can advise you on how to proceed. Without having all payments made in a traceable format (pay stubs, etc.) it may be extremely difficult to prove your case. I sure hope things work out for you.....best of luck!


