Comments on: Wage Theft: What it is and what you can do about it.

By: Tina Alberino

Tina Alberino — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 21:29:52 +0000

In reply to Anonymous. Ugh. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I really hate that the variable nature of compensation in our industry allows salon owners like your prior employer to create intentionally confusing and complicated pay structures that make it easy for them to exploit people.

By: Tina Alberino

Tina Alberino — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 21:27:32 +0000

In reply to Kiibiii. The state board of barbering and cosmetology doesn't oversee wage issues. You'll need to contact someone at the Department of Labor (Wage and Hour Division) or your state labor board. They'll be able to help you, for sure. It sounds like your employer is utilizing several very typical tactics to disguise wage theft.

By: Kiibiii

Kiibiii — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 06:20:40 +0000

So I have been at my job for 3 years as a nail tech. I sometimes work past my scheduled hours however we do not clock in and out she pays us by counting our number of clients throughout the day so we dont get paid for over time. Every two weeks my check would be the exact same number and seemed as though my check was only worth a week. I was also promised comission on package sales which i never received. When i asked her about them she told me that comission comes in cash after your paycheck. No one that i work with has ever seen their comission. She is constantly making excuses for why my check is not accurate. If she does decide to pay me for missing money she seems to be double taxing it. Please tell me there is a way to get help through the board even though there is no electronic record of my hours since we rely on a written schedule.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 14:05:18 +0000

Thank you for all of this information! I worked for my company for just over 5 years. When I started he paid me the hourly or commission deal. Then 1 year into it he switched me to only commission 40% and then offered me “managers comission”, which was 10% of every other employees sales IF they met their weekly “goal”. That only last about another year, then, without any explanation it just stopped. I was required to perform all the same tasks I did before. After another year passed I spoke up, he said, “hang in there” , “we have a lot of bill’s right now” , “we will take care of you”. And he brought my comission up to 50% and told me that is the “max” pay. That’s it. So.. I quit. When I quit he then accused me of stealing. Now, after reading all of this I realize he was the one stealing from me for 5 years. He always told us, “I have nothing to hide”, and always gave everyone the run around.

By: Tina

Tina — Sat, 23 Feb 2019 16:05:21 +0000

In reply to Anonymous. Thanks! I'm sure you're aware by now, but you shouldn't be classified as an independent contractor. If you want to learn everything you need to know the easy way, I made a class all about misclassification, wage theft, and what your rights are. You can take it here.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 23:40:02 +0000

Hi! First thank you for this amazing website, secondly, I work at a salon under 10-99 but the salon takes a percentage of my services, they have a front-desk running checking clients out. Included in the percentage taken from the service total is a “salon fee” and “product fee”. I have been reading up on your website, specifically the Know Your Rights. I have been at this salon for two years now and when first starting out I was under as w-2 then near the end of 2017 changed over without choice to 10-99. Have had to pull teeth to get a breakdown of whats being taken out of my paycheck, am not charged a renters fee, but their “justification” is working in the salon is a benefit because of the “weight the brand carries”, they make it seem as if it is a privilege to work there. Filing my taxes last year became extremely difficult and I started trying to educate myself since I had no idea about 10-99 and how it’s supposed to be. At this point, I’ve had it with the level of anxiety and stress this brings me. Multiple stylists have now left the salon and I’m feeling overwhelmed with the amount of research needed in order to be knowledgable on the issue. Again, Thank you for being such a badass and respectable and honest individual, you are incredible.

By: Tina

Tina — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 12:29:52 +0000

In reply to Kelly Hoye. Generally, when you're being "engaged to wait" by your employer, they're required to compensate you and those hours do count towards working hours (meaning that they count towards the calculation of overtime). Read this post for more information.

By: Kelly Hoye

Kelly Hoye — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 11:46:33 +0000

I am a commissioned employee at a salon. My employer schedules meetings, trainings and classes on Monday’s when the salon is closed and is a scheduled non-working day…once a month it is a mandatory staff meeting…other trainings or classes we are also expected to attend on our non-working days…my question is, is she required to pay us for these meetings or trainings when they are scheduled on our days off?? If there is a law about this, where can I find it?

By: Tina

Tina — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 02:11:30 +0000

In reply to anonymous. The answer you're looking for can be found in this article.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 17:26:50 +0000

My daughter works at a Solon where the owner takes money out f their paycheck if a client is unhappy with their hair and she has to redo it. She “charges” the employees for her services as a senior stylist because her time isn’t free! Is this legal?