Likely not. She’ll have to speak with a labor authority for more information on her particular situation. I don’t know what state you’re in or what the terms of her employment arrangement are–even then, I’m not qualified to speak on her specific situation.

You’re welcome! 🙂

Tina, thank you for your valuable time to respond my inquiries!! Your blog has been of GREAT help! Thank you!

Omg, get the HELL out of there. She doesn’t have insurance? That alone is reason enough to run. Damn near nothing about this situation is fair or appropriate. I’ll start at the top:

1.) You should be getting paid at least minimum wage.
2.) If your commission doesn’t meet or exceed the prevailing minimum wage, the owner should be making up the difference.
3.) Employers are typically never permitted to dock wages below the minimum wage.
4.) No employer is entitled to free labor from anyone (and neither are their dogs).
5.) Recordkeeping (tracking hours) is a mandatory federal requirement.
6.) Most employers are required to compensate you overtime pay equal to or exceeding one and a half times your hourly rate (at least the prevailing minimum wage).
7.) Refunds are a cost of doing business expense the employer should bear–not the employees. The size of her business and her inability to manage her finances isn’t your fucking problem.
8.) The mobile groomers need to be clocked in and compensated for every second they’re working, regardless of what they’re doing.
9.) If the groomer didn’t sign anything regarding damages, she could likely take the owner to court for the wage deduction, and honestly, I would. This woman sounds like a complete shitshow.

I’m not in the beauty business for humans but, rather dogs. I’ve been grooming for several years and never had an issue like the one I’m having in my current grooming salon. #1) The owner of the place hired me as a commissioned groomer employee (50/50). Never signed any type of paperwork or handed an employee handbook but my application and drug test. Never was told that… a) when the owner decided she wanted to give a free service i.e. teeth brushing or nail filing for a clients dog (we charge a high price for grooming and that should make up for the free service we are providing according to the owner), we the groomers do not get that service added to our commissions (paid for it) …b) was never told how much I was to get paid hourly in case I go home without making any or little commission for the day…c) we do not record anywhere what time we clock in or out. #2) owner enforced that all groomers be at salon by 8:45 am to “prepare” our station (more like clean salon) or we would collect points that would follow in termination if the required amount was reached. Also, even if we are done with our last groom dog by i.e. 3pm, we STILL have to stay until 5pm (closing time) in case a walk in for a groom or quick nail trim comes in (the last appointment for the day would be 3pm). We all have worked overtime MULTIPLE times! #3) the salon owner wants us to groom her personal dogs for not even half of what we would get in a 50/50 commission. She under pays to get her dogs serviced with us. She went as far as not paying one of the groomers that once groomed her dog! This as a result, interrupts whomever is grooming her 5 dogs (especially myself) to not make MORE money because she has basically taken the groomers entire day to groom her 5 dogs and sometimes after closing time. #3) a client complaint that I did not groom his dog good. Even after I explained to him that his dog drooled on his beard therefore, i could not do the best cut around his face (these things happen often in grooming). I did ask him to revise the cut before he left so I could fix any mistake right then and there (salon owner was present) and he said it looked fine. He calls the salon owner minutes later and sends her a picture saying he wanted a refund because his partner didn’t like the cut. The owner is obviously not a dog groomer and instead of asking him to bring his drooling dog the next day to revise the groom when I was present, she opts to tell him she’ll refund him and sends me an offensive text message basically questioning my grooming skills and then sends me a picture of what the haircut “should look”. Next day I go in, to sum this up, I asked her if I would get paid for that hard work I performed on that breed groom and her reply was no because…a) she has had too many expenses with mobil vans breaking down, and other salon expenses etc., etc…b) she hasn’t yet refunded him but “promised” him a refund but, waiting for his response I suppose…c) her business is not big like Petsmart or Petco where they don’t take that refund out of your pay because the salon isn’t all of their revenue….and d) she mentioned how she didn’t have some sort of insurance to cover that kind of incidents (not even when a dog is injured in her salon). #4) her mobil pet groomers are not paid for the time they spend washing towels for the van, cleaning the van, refueling the van, refiling clean water and empty dirty water, maintenance of the van, driving from one clients home to another, ALL THIS for just 25%!!!! The owners get 75% and they don’t do one fourth of the crap these poor mobil groomers do! #5) one mobil groomer knocked off a BMW’s side rearview mirror costing the repair $1,600 which is being deducted from the groomers paycheck!! Is this legal?? Groomer did not sign anything stating that accidents to or in the mobil van fell on the groomer and not the vans insurance. I’m in the state of Florida in Palm Beach County. Thanks for your time.

If rental is illegal in your state, there’s no way for them to justify it. Their loopholes they believe to be so clever will likely not convince any regulatory authority that they’re operating legally. Most state authorities are contemptuous of salon owners that try to pull slick shit like this, so they could do with a strong warning. They really do not know what they’re doing. This entire situation sounds like extremely incompetent management. If I were you, I’d be extremely blunt with them and make it clear that their arrangement, however they want to frame it, will be seen as illegal WHEN they are caught. (There’s no “if” here. It’s definitely a “when.”) This arrangement doesn’t benefit you whatsoever. I’m almost positive you’re classified as an independent contractor, and if that’s the case, you’re paying 15.3% of that $400 per week directly to the IRS, plus your state income taxes (which, if you’re in the state I think you’re in, are substantial). Get the hell out of there. This is one of those situations where leaving is entirely justified.

If you’re being compensated in accordance with the FLSA (which means not only are you making the minimum wage, but you’re also having that overtime properly compensated), then yes, it’s legal to ask you to stay. Technically, you are making an income, since the owner is ensuring you’re making at least the prevailing wage for your time spent on the clock.

However, I agree that it’s asinine to ask a stylist to say instead of the front desk associate. Not trying to discount the efforts of our receptionists, but the absolute last person I’d expect to pull extra hours would be a stylist who had been on her feet, working all day. Our jobs are intensely physical, and psychologically draining. That policy (to punish the second-hardest working person of the day by making them wait longer to go home), is a joke.