I am asking for the state of Oklahoma. I have been employed at this veterinary hospital for six years, the last three as a salaried employee. In November 2007, the owner told me that he had been overpaying me (paying me $19 per hour instead of the $12 that was agreed upon) and he would be cutting my pay to reflect that. When we discussed this pay cut and I asked what would happen if I didn’t agree, I was told if I didn’t I would no longer be employed. I was eight months pregnant at the time an on the clinic’s insurance with two other small children at home, so I signed. I worked part time during my maternity leave. I had written a proposal of work to be done at home during my leave that averaged 19.5 hours per week, but nothing was finalized due to his poor time management, so he explained my proposal had been okay’d by default. During one week of my maternity leave, my job required additional hours to complete projects, and I worked almost forty hours in one week. When I turned in my hours, the owner refused to pay me for the additional twenty because “it was not part of our agreement” and told me I was out the hours. Over a month later, I still have not been compensated.
Two weeks ago, he came to me with a proposal regarding hours for a new position I was to create. Before I went on maternity leave, my proposal was in the owners hands and the hours were approximately 38 hours per week. During my leave, he hired an outside agent to perform twelve hours of the work I was intending to do, leaving em with only 28 hours worth of work per my proposal. So once again, he is making my pay match those hours. I have had almost $600 per pay period cut from my wages in the past three months. What legal recourse do I have, if any?

Are you paid as nonexempt? Have you been off work and on FMLA? Does your previous job still exist?

No, I'm not paid as a nonexempt. Our company is only about 25 employees,so we don't qualify under FMLA and I've been working at least part-time, even whil on mat leave. My old job which I guess would still exist, was a combination of the new one I'm working on and being a receptionist.

Generally speaking, short of a bona fide employment contract specifying pay, it is legal to cut your pay going forward. In Oklahoma, as in most states, retroactive decreases are not permitted.

I must say, though, that the fact that you were on maternity leave does make all these changes sound somewhat fishy, at least on their face. Has anyone else had their hours or pay rate dramatically cut? How many employees total?