I have worked for a large fast food chain for about 8 years. In that time, I worked at 3 different locations, moving around as needed between stores owned by the same man, sometimes due to getting a promotion. I was treated fairly well and worked my way up to be the highest paid manager in my last store.
Bf and I bought a house that would have required an hour commute, so I decided to transfer to the local location owned by a different man. They asked me what I was making, I told them, and they agreed to pay that even though it was “well above their usual rate of pay for someone in my position”. That should have been a red flag.
While trying to merge my new work ID number with my old one, my new supervisor claimed that the system was telling her I was making less than what I had previously told them. I wasn’t sure why it would say that, but she typed up a memo stating that I had “falsified my wages”, that doing so was a “terminable offense”, and they were going to reduce my rate of pay without consulting me or even giving me a chance to prove my innocence. They gave me the memo the day before my paycheck hit my account, which means they submitted the change several days earlier in time for payroll. So they changed my rate of pay for two full weeks worked, and paid me out for the lower amount.
I contacted my old store and had them email me my last paystub, proving that I never lied about how much I had been making. My supervisor never apologized or admitted that she had been wrong to do what she did. So I quit. I had already put my notice in for a better job, but after her telling me I would need to “work harder” to earn what they had already agreed to pay me, I quit on the spot and didn’t finish out my notice.
I got my last paycheck today, and they did adjust and pay me the original agreed upon amount, and they gave me “retro pay” for what they essentially stole out of my previous paycheck. But I’m curious if what they did is even legal? Can an employer change your rate of pay for hours you’ve already worked at an agreed upon rate? I’m in Michigan.