Does anyone here know about Labor Laws? (NJ)

BlackenedSVT

Active Member
Jan 18, 2004
1,841
7
38
New Jersey
I have recently come to find out that I have a MASSIVE problem at my work and wondering if any of you on here have any experience with something like this:
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I have worked for a BMW dealership in northern NJ for nearly 3 years now (this july will be 3 years). I have been a technician working in service for the 1st 2 years, and recently switched to the Parts Deparment doing sales and distribution for the dealership over the counter. When I switched to Parts my pay was salary (what I was making as a technician) for the 1st 6 months about. After that period (starting in february of 2009 this year), my boss put me on a lower salary but with a commision bonus. I signed my contract with this new commission to be 0.6% of our total sales for the month. That as in February, and we get 1 commission check every month. So March was my 1st commission check, then april, may and now june. About 5 Days ago my boss came to me and asked what my commision was for april and come to find out he tells me that "they" (i guess payroll) has been paying me 1.3% commission instead of 0.6% and tells me that I now OWE the company $6,800. Now he only thought this happened for 1 month...I then told him ummm no this has been what i've been getting since he put me on comission months ago now. So instead of getting my comission check a few days ago, they TOOK $1,000 of my $1,707 commission check right out of my bank and left me with the $707, as part of their new "payment plan" they put me on. They tell me that they will now be taking $1,000 a month out of my future commission for the next 5 to 6 months until this $6,800 "debt" is paid off.

1) I want to find out if its legal for them to skim/garnish wages like this.
2) my boss signs off on our pay every week and every month submits our commission and paychecks to payroll. Meaning he clearly must be an idiot to sign off on my commission checks that MUST HAVE clearly said 1.3% instead of 0.6%. How am *I* held responsible for someone else's mistake??? Its not my problem nor responsibility to pay off someone else's mistake....

I personally feel, legally and morally that I should not be responsible for this "debt" as I did not KNOW that I was making 1.3% commission. I thought the "extra" commission money I was making WAS the 0.6%. I and apparently my boss only found out about me being "overpaid" this past week. I was not maliciously stealing from the company. So now not only do I come to find out 4-5months later that what I THOUGHT I was making is really cut in over half of that, but on TOP of that now they are taking $1,000 a month out of THAT pay.

As some of you on the mustang forums might know, I recently was in a car wreck in the rain and totalled my 2004 SVT cobra:( That was on May1st. Then on Memorial day I went and purchased a new car (my 2007 Shelby GT500) with higher payments a month. I was only granted the loan in the 1st place because I showed them my past months pay-stubs. And only received the loan based on what the bank AND myself THOUGHT i was making. Come to find out now that im making a lot less.

Let me know what you guys make of this situation.

I already KNOW MORALLY they are in the wrong....but I want to find out if they are LEGALLY in the wrong too.
 
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Does it state anywhere in the contract that you signed, that they had the right to garnish or "take back" your wages for any reason?

If not, you should have a good foot to stand on. Large company taking advantage of an employee usually ends well for the employee as long as you have EVERY document you need, and the copy of the contract you sign doesn't magically "dis-appear".

Get a lawyer, get your ducks in a row.

The law doesn't like to see businesses act immorally, although it is legal (only to an extent). For legal purposes, a company cannot cause UNDUE hardship upon you for their immoral actions (it can then become a crime). It sounds like they are really putting it to you, so they may have crossed the boundary from immoral to illegal.

It was a mistake the company made, they should take liability for themselves, UNLESS it specifically states that they have the right to garnish your wages for "reason xx", then they may be in the clear no matter how screwed up it is.

Good luck.
 
to the best of my knowledge I didn't sign anything saying that they can garnish my wages, NOR did I sign anything saying that if they over pay me, I owe it to them.

However, I am hearing from other people that they ARE allowed to take back their pay should they overpay employees. Soooo its still up in the air. I think this situation is really on the fence of being legal/illegal. They may have the right to take their money back but as you said it is illegal for them to burden me with a massive "paycut"/paychange.

I think in the end, the question is going to come down to, do I want to suck it up and stay at the job, or go through the hassle of quitting and sueing them.
 
All I can really say out of this situation is thank GOD they found out they were "overpaying me" NOW and not another 8 months from now. I mean its bad enough that this went on for 4-5months with me THINKING that, that was my pay....but imagine it went on longer?

What would have happened? they would have come to me in January when we get pay reviews and said "oh by the way you owe us $32,000" ????????
 
Put it to them straight - if they don't stop withholding pay, you'll quit and seek legal representation. And seek out a lawyer anyway.

And going forward require them to show you the parts sales numbers every month. If they can't do simple math, what are they doing handling payroll? Isn't there a general manager there who ought to know his payroll department and parts manager are incompetent and making you pay for it?

They have screwed up in the past, so make it clear that you can't trust them going forward. If you screwed up that bad you'd get fired. Why treat them different?
 
You signed a contract to make X amount base pay plus the commission, correct?

If they paid you less than X amount you would feel they are obligated to pay you the amount you did not receive according to contract correct???

Unless you have a clause in the contract stating you are not responsible for overpayment. Why are you not contractually responsible to give back what is contractually theirs??

Mistakes happen. They did not intentionally pay you more money. Especially with payroll being done mostly electronically now a days one must double check every paycheck.

Be thankful they are slowly taking the wages back and not 1 lump sum.

Sounds like aside from the accounting error you have a pretty good job. Do you want to risk that in this economy?
 
Unfortunately I have to agree with 1992 2.3LX. I've worked in payroll for 15 years now and mistakes happen. If they had shorted you and went the wrong way with the decimal point, would you have pointed it out and expected your money? Of course you would have, we all would.

I've had cases where a department head put a dollar figure into an hour column and I've paid people 1,200 hours instead of $1,200 dollars. And yes, we take the money back. If they spent it, they knew they weren't supposed to and we take it back much like your employer is taking it back, smaller amounts so you don't go without food for several weeks or months.

If the underlying issue is that you've committed to this huge car payment based on what you thought you were making, I totally understand you being freaked out. Otherwise, if it's just them taking back what they overpaid you, be glad they're doing in increments rather than all at once.