Can an employer retroactively deduct wages paid due to payor source recoupment if the hours worked were assigned hours?

Question

I'm a behavioral health case manager in OK. In Nov 2016 my employer notified me that due to the new overtime laws coming on 12/1/2016, I would need to choose whether I would change from salary to an hourly employee or a fee-for-service employee. I often worked 50 to 60 hrs a week, and they did not wish to pay overtime. I was advised that if I chose hrly I would need to be sure my hrs did not go over 40/ week.If I went fee for service then I would receive 37% of everything I billed in services, and that since my amounts billed prior had always equalled more than what I was making salary,I should be fine, and make more money if I billed even more hrs.Flash fwd to now. My paycheck has $440 deducted from my 1st paycheck in March and over $500 on the 2nd. I was told that I went over the 35 hour limit that OK allows for billable hrs to medicaid, and anything over that had been recouped retroactively,even though the work I did was assigned and I was told to bill. Is there a legal issue here?

Related Topics:

Employment Law

1 Lawyer Answer

Tulsa, OK
Licensed in Oklahoma

A: You might have a case against the employer for assigning you more work than you can bill and also for making a deduction you did not authorize, if you did not authorize the deduction.. However, it depends on a variety of details that you should discuss with an attorney near you who is familiar with employment law.

I agree with this answer Report

Howard Berkson · Answer

You might have a case against the employer for assigning you more work than you can bill and also for making a deduction you did not authorize, if you did not authorize the deduction..  However, it depends on a variety of details that you should discuss with an attorney near you who is familiar with employment law.

Q: Can an employer retroactively deduct wages paid due to payor source recoupment if the hours worked were assigned hours?