I have a weird situation concerning my employer. I work at the front desk for a Hotel in Alabama. I started a year ago this month. About 6 months after I started working there, my employers took 2 weeks off for a festival that their friends and family have every year. Well, unfortunatly one of the other employees that works up front, ended up going in to the hospital the same at the same time as the festival. Then, another employee decided to quit. So it was left up to me and another person to work those 2 weeks. Basicly we both pulled doubles for 2 weeks. Well when my boss went to pay me, she made it look like the employee in the hospital had actually been working. She then told that employee to cash her check and to give us the money for the extra days we worked. Well I told her that I didn't think that i was legal and that I wasn't getting what I was owed, nor was the other employee that had to work the extra hours. so basiclly I didn't get taxes taken out and the extra hours didn't get treated as overtime. Is this legal and if not what can I do about it? This actually happens alot where I work, but I seem to be the only one that is willing to tell them that I don't agree with it. I am afraid that I will be fired if I keep bringing it up. I don't want to let the issue go though. :confused:

It's fraud on the employer's part and a violation of wage and hour laws to boot.

Do you still have the money? If you do, stash it in a interest-bearing account. If you don't, start saving a few dollars each week and here's why.

What I recommend is that you file a claim for unpaid overtime, what was not on YOUR paycheck, with the federal Dept. of Labor (Alabama has no wage and hour laws of its own, so they have nothing they can enforce). At the point the company pays you properly, then write a check back to the employer for the cash you received from the other employee; what they do with it at that point is their business; I would not have any dealings what that other employee who, although technically not commiting fraud, certainly was complicit with the employer in this action.

I wish I could be a fly on the wall when the employer tries to tell the DOL that they didn't pay you, but paid another employee who then gave you their net pay which, if I'm understanding you correctly, was straight-time pay. The DOL will not be happy.

Thank you! I knew that it had to be illegal in some way, but I had no idea how to fix the problem. Now all I have to do is pray they don't fire me! I was told that in Alabama, employers don't have to have a reason to fire someone.

In 49 out of 50 states, including Alabama, an employer can fire an employee for any reason THAT DOES NOT VIOLATE THE LAW. Firing you because you reported illegal wage payments to the DOL DOES violate the law. They cannot legally fire you for that reason.

I can't promise that you will not be fired for another reason, but if you even think that they fired you because of your wage claim and that the other reason is a pretext, make sure the DOL is aware of it. They can amend your claim. It also wouldn't hurt, should that happen, to talk to an employment attorney.