Q: Can a place of employment make you sign another offer letter after they got the pay rate wrong on the first?
A company I work for is being bought/transitioned to a new company. Employees are being encouraged to transition over as well, with better pay rates. They have sent out employment offer letters to each employee to sign detailing their individualized pay rates. I received my first one and signed it at a pay rate of 16.30. Now they have said they offered the wrong amount and want me to sign a second offer letter detailing less pay at 15.25! Do I have to sign the second letter or does the company have to go buy the first if I refuse to settle for less?
A:
This is question of Contract Law. Workers' Compensation deals exclusively with work-related injuries. If you were offered $16.30 per hour and you accepted that rate of pay, the must pay you $16.30 for all hours worked from the date you accepted the offer to the date that they changed their offer. If you are an at-will employee, your employer can offer to pay you ANY rate of pay that is at or above the Minimum Wage in your jurisdiction.
Most employers have a pay schedule for each class of workers with increases every 6-12 months. If your new employer placed you in the wrong seniority bracket but seeks to correct that, your choice (from the date of the second notice) is to accept work at that rate or refuse it. You can only "force" them to pay you $16.30 for the time you worked BEFORE you sign the second notice. Your refusal to sign allows them to fire you.
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