I just wanna see if there's anything I can do about it, basically. I thought I was screwed but reading this sub they might be in breach of contract.
Here's the story: I work in pharmacy for a big retail chain. In early September 2021 they sent all the techs a letter. Basically, it was as follows: We took a look at companies around us and found out why we are bleeding techs like crazy- we pay you guys less than them. So as of October 3rd, 2021, your pay will be raised to $18.
The thing is it specifically spelled out your name, your current pay rate, the dollar amount it would be increasing by, and the new pay rate. So for me it specifically said my name, said current pay was 14.75, that as of October 3rd it would be increased by $3.25 and my new pay rate would be $18. (I still have the paper and can upload a copy with my name and stuff blacked out if that might be necessary.)
I was pleasantly surprised by the increase. It's a substantial amount to happen at once for this particular chain. On October 16th, my second paycheck since the increase, my wife points out that the check seems a bit low. I look into it and on my profile it states that my current pay rate is 16.90. I'm a bit confused and go to the HR rep and ask them about it. They have no idea, but promise to look into it. Since I'm an idiot, I take their word for that and let it go, still asking them about it once a week, they still say they have no idea. 4 weeks later on November 18 I have had enough of them hemhawing and jerking me around and ask my pharmacist to contact his boss and see if he can answer us. He gets back to me in three hours.
“Oh that was a mistake. It was only meant to go to $18 for techs who have been here for four years or longer. 16.90 is correct for you, you'll go to $18 once you hit four years.”
My 4th year wont start until March of 2022. HR rep, in what Im completely sure is totally a coincidence, gets back to me later that same afternoon and tells me the same thing. I am understandably rather upset and cause a bit of a scene with them, especially given that I was given several hours to think over what I was going to say.
The union, (which is a total joke and about to sell out to this company for a god-awful contract, but that's another story) is absolutely no help at all. “Oh, they did that on their own, we had nothing to do with it, so can't help ya, bud.”
The thing is, I have a piece of paper with my name and all this specific information. Isn't this considered a contract at this point? Is it possible the Department of Labor can help me on this? By my calculations, backpay from end of Feb back to Oct 3rd of $1.10 an hour is close to $1,000. Which is a drop in the bucket to them, but a big deal to me.