My employer is reducing my pay a dollar based on two reasons that are untrue, can she do this?

Let me begin by making an assumption. I assume that your employment is terminable at will. Unless you have a contract that gives you some form of job security, the presumption is that your employment can be terminated at any time, with or without a good reason. It then follows that the terms of your employment, including your pay, can be changed at will. Your employer doesn't need a reason to do this. The fact that the employer gave you a reason that doesn't hold up doesn't give you some legal protection that you didn't have before. Whether this is discrimination depends on whether you are being treated less favorably than some other employees in the same situation. But you need to understand that discrimination is not illegal unless it is based upon a prohibited reason. The civil rights laws prohibit discrimination based upon sex, race, religion, national origin, color, age and disability. There are also laws that prohibit certain discrimination based upon military status. If the reason for the discriminatory treatment doesn't fall into one of these categories, it isn't unlawful.

posted by Francis Fanning  |  May 2, 2013 10:17 AM [EST]