Can my employer (school district) refuse to pay me for extra time worked?

I am a school bus driver and my district pays each route driver 4 1/4 hours per school day. However my route and several others take at least 5 hours daily to complete. We put this extra time on our bi-weekly payroll and our supervisor deducts it back off every time. My supervisor says that all drivers are "contracted" for 4 1/4 hours daily and that is all he has to pay us regardless of how long it takes us to complete our routes. I talked to someone at the Department of Labor and they said that as long as my time overages don't make my total hourly wage go below minimum wage, that this is perfectly legal. Is this true?

1 answer  |  asked Mar 12, 2010 10:51 AM [EST]  |  applies to Ohio

Answers (1)

Bruce Elfvin
I don't think so, if you are paid hourly and the hours are "predetermined" by the employer, then there will be an issue on whether you are properly paid, if the employer pays by the days or route then the DOL answer may be correct, but I do not think that the employer can arbitrarily continue to count all routes the same once it is on notice.

You should consult with an employment lawyer near you and get all of your documentation together on when you turned in the time and supervisor marked it off.

You can select an attonrey near you at: www.oelasmart.net/directory

Regards, Bruce Elfvin

posted by Bruce Elfvin  |  Mar 15, 2010 09:22 AM [EST]

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