Hi! I've checked out the other posts on here regarding paid vs. unpaid suspension... Unfortunately all I have found is information for exempt employees.
My fiance works for a fast food franchise store. He has been there for 4 years and has never been written up, late, or called out other than for sickness. Our store recently had a new manager working there, a 19 year old power-hungry young man who went to school with my fiance and took a disliking to him, primarily based on the fact that he knew how much my fiance makes there (more than management wages...).

One night my fiance attempted to call out of work for the following day until 11pm that night, when the store closed. No one ever answered. He had no other contact numbers, and after staying up until 11 to call he did not want to wake at 4am (mandatory to call out 2 hours before shift and his was at 6) to call out when a manager should have answered the previous evening. Also, the phone had been known to not work for some time. When he returned to work the following day he was told by the 19 year old that he was suspended for 5 days, unpaid. When asked why the manager hung up the phone on him. (Miraculously a NEW phone!!).

At this time, the store manager was on vacation and informed my fiance she would not have done that to him, but won't disagree with the "kid" manager because he was left in charge.

Several employees in the past and currently have done "no call ,no shows", and no action is taken against them... I myself was even "promised" a suspension if I continued to be late at this company and I was purposely late to prove a point... I was not suspended.

Since my fiance's suspension, his paycheck which was missing 35 hours on it was only roughly 250 , when he depends on his full 70 hours each each pay period, and consequently his bank account has become over 300 negative , including late fees/over draft fees... etc....

Currently, he is seeking to be compensated for the time he was wrongfully out of work (as I said, the store manager disagreed with the kid.... several other managers disagree... and now this 19 year old is no longer at our store..), plus the fees incurred from his bank. . .

I know florida has virtually no protection for employees (unless they are federal employees it seems...), but what , if anything , can he do about this to have it rectified and not lose his job in the process?

If possible, an emailed response would be great since I am rarely online...

myhrtblngs2djh @ aol . com

Thanks, and I apologize for the lengthy-ness :) :p

Sounds like the kid manager acted immaturely. Unfortunately being "immature" is not against the law. As a non-exempt employee, FLSA only requires that employees be paid for physical hours worked. Since your fiance was on an unpaid suspension, it's legal to not pay him since he didn't actually work.

It's also ok to suspend one employee and not another for doing the same thing, provided that the reason does not violate discrimination protections (i.e. protected classes such as race, religion, national origin, etc.).

The employer is not responsible for the bank fees accessed to your fiance's bank account. Ultimately the responsibility to manage personal finances comes to your own person. While I understand that your fiance had counted on the money, it's not your boss' fault that he did not wait to see what his check would before he commited to money elsewhere.