I just have a general question. What happens to an owner who paid time & a half to employees at one time then decided he just wasn’t going to pay that any more & gave us straight time instead ? We are located in Michigan. I guess what I want to know is if a compaint is filed & found that workers were not paid time & a half for over 40 hrs (and there is a Labor Law poster in the office) what happens to the guilty party? (makes resitution, gets fined, faces charges, etc)

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(jix13y55jojfp445rk03qo55))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-408-393&highlight=minimum%20wage

How many employees are involved? How long has this been going on? Why does the employer say he's not paying 1.5 any more? Have any of the employees filed a claim with the state Dept. of Labor?

The owner in question owes 3 different locations so total employees unknown. At the location I worked we had 3 employees. This has been going on since April 2008 up to that point he paid 1.5 he then decided on his own he was not paying 1.5 so straight time was paid for anything over 40 hrs and shown on check stub as Commission. No one will file because they need the job so some quit working over 40 hrs others just say nothing because they have families and cant afford to loose the job

Employees who file a claim would be covered under state whistleblower protection.
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/cis/wsh_whistleblowers_203828_7.pdf

Michigan law requires all employers who employee at least 2 employees age 16 or over pay overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate of pay.
http://www.michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154-27673_27696-39647--,00.html

My question is what happens to the one not paying the overtime? I'm not going to persue this if all he gets is a slap on the wrist

Did you read Patty's link that she posted in post #2?

Why would you not pursue it? If nothing else, you would get the half-time portion of the overtime?

My question is what happens to the one not paying the overtime? I'm not going to persue this if all he gets is a slap on the wrist

Then is this just about getting revenge?

If the Federal Department of Labor handles the case, they will come up with a figure for the back wages owed and may assess fines (not payable to the employees).

If you file in federal court, you could get the back pay PLUS an equal amount as liquidated damages plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs. Some states allow double damages, if you file in state court.

No it's not just about revenge. This is a very powerful little man so if I turn him in, he will know who did it and will make my life hell. Not worth it to me if all he gets is fines

Did you read the link I posted regarding whistleblower protection in Michigan? It would be very unwise for the boss to retaliate against you for reporting a possible violation of law, not to mention having to write a check with a bunch of zeroes on it.

Your choice.