Can an employer pay you a different wage that was offered but not accepted leading to your resignation (legal separation of employment) by SD Unemployment law standards. (Breach of contract)
My Employer tried to pay me call time and some strange amount for two days of employment beyond a full week.

To clarify I was salaried at a specific amount. (no matter the number of hours I worked) plus call time 24 hours a day seven days a week. This was considered part of my position (employer has paid two weeks of vacation at my salaried rate.) can he legally alter my wage for the final two days when we discussed in Monday afternoon telling me to go home and talk it over with my wife. Tuesday he made a second offer and I said I couldn't accept that he stood shook my hand and said, "OK."
If you want the whole story behind this I can post it. (warning it is over three years of employment, three pages long word format.

Secondly according to a local wage and labor lawyer for the FED, he states an employee who supervises at least two full time employees or equivalent # of part time employees is exempt from Hourly wage and overtime pay,(this I agree with)
But he failed to notice the regulation that excludes EMT's paramedics, Police, Firefighters, FIrst Responders from this law, specificaly stated in the DOL Federal worksheet on this law (Paramedic is not considered a learned professional) therefore they cannot be excluded from hourly and overtime pay. (I dont remember the worksheets #'s can find them if needed check the federal labor pages FLSA worksheets for Paramedic and White collar Salaried employees.

SO going through this, do I have grounds for a wage complaint for improperly paid wages?
(also said he would pay me one week of vacation out of my four I requested) once I won Unemployment against him, he is refusing to pay the vacation) I am taking to small claims court for the four weeks of vacation.

Secondly what is the likelyhood of a suit against him for unfair/illegal labor wage practices
(he also has a federal contract for ambulance with a VA hospital)
Thanks for any help my attorney (brother in-law) doesn't know labor law, I have a pre-law from USD but was talked out of law school by non-other My Brother inlaw.

EMT's, police, firefighters, etc. may not be considered exempt because of their duties. If they supervise others and qualify under other exempt criteria then yes, they can be paid on a salary exempt basis.

Do you have an actual contract in writing that specifies how much you are to be paid? If so, it would be enforced under contract law not employment law nad you really need to take it to a lawyer to interpret.

If you are like most of the working population, you do not and in that case, your employer may pre-rate your last week of work and only pay you for the hours/days that you do work.

Whether you are owed your vacation or not is up to your state. Hopefully cgb will be along to tell you whether yours requires this or not.

South Dakota law does NOT require that you be paid out any unused vacation at termination.

BTW, just as a point of interest, SD is the only state in the US where an employer is allowed to withhold the employee's final check until the employee has returned all company equipment.

Sorry to beat this dead horse many months after it ha died, but I have finally come to terms and "cooled off" I am not pursing a federal wage labor case against my former employer, any help finding a good Labor Attorney willing to performa free consultation to determine if there are grounds for this litigation would be great. Heres some background..

EMT's, police, firefighters, etc. may not be considered exempt because of their duties. If they supervise others and qualify under other exempt criteria then yes, they can be paid on a salary exempt basis. According to the FLSA fact sheet 17A yes but according to the fact sheet section: Police officer, FFighter... "The excemptions do not apply.. regrdless of rank or pay-level." further down "nothing in the FLSA or Part 541 regulation relives employers from their contractual obligations under such bargaining agreements." Well from the begining I demanded overtime for hours over 40 which were paid for the first few months I worked. After promotion the owner lead me to believe that I was free to come and go working the necessaary hours I needed to complete necessary duties, he then changes my ORAL CONTRACT (AGREEMENT) that we worked out when I took the position of General Manager (Director). Stating I had to work a min of 45 hours. (besides being on call 7 days a week 24 hours aday when not at the office, as well as answering the business cell phone that all calls were forwarded to when not answered at the office in three rings, also 24 hours a day).

Do you have an actual contract in writing that specifies how much you are to be paid? If so, it would be enforced under contract law not employment law nad you really need to take it to a lawyer to interpret. ORAL CONTRACT AGREEMENT, this was also upheld by an administrative Law Judge when former employer filed appeal to my unemployment claim that was upheald after first review by the DOL, SD and by the ALJ.

If you are like most of the working population, you do not and in that case, your employer may pre-rate your last week of work and only pay you for the hours/days that you do work.
And according to most law I have found he still has to pay me at my previous rate for those two days due to our Oral Contract of employment.

Whether you are owed your vacation or not is up to your state. Hopefully cgb will be along to tell you whether yours requires this or not.
Vacation, well I know, but my father got hit by a former employee who got two weks of vacay from him after suing him, employee only workjed for him for three-four months.

As for the other particulars of the case, I worked many overtime hours. as well as required sundays during (car racing) season for a resucue squad. (no pay) Answering the phone at all hours, and for my being (punished) reduced in pay and management title two weeks after I informed him of his FLSA infractions, he did this at the end of Feb (last day). (no idea if its terribly imp. but pretty fishy. Secondly there are many emplyees that this has been done too. I can give other names. not sure if they would be willing to go in on this.
Please help, any information would be greatly appreciated. Thoughts of whether a case exists, names of Attorneys, Attorneys willing to pursue further discussion of this?
Thank you

Also a sidebar to this I documented all the conversations with the Dept. of Labor, and have multiple documents outlining my comunique with them.
I also have the ALJ descision stating many inconsistencies in the Emplyers testimony.
Amongst some other reasons of why I was informed that If I would like to pursue that not is a good time. Want to know why this is a good time to lay down a complaint, Attorneys Bar certified for South Dakota or Federal Wage Complaint will be told.

The rules of this board prohibit the referral of specific attorneys, and reputable attorneys do not troll message boards looking for clients.

This board specifically prohibits referrals to attorneys.


Whether your verbal agreement contitutes a contract is very fact specific and something that really needs to be reviewed by a lawyer. However, a verbal agreement is not a collective bargaining agreement as indicated in the text you copied. Those are very different things and not at all subject to the same rules.

A general manager can qualify as exempt per the executive exemption or administrative one. A paramedic would not qualify based on the duties of a paramedic for the professional exemption, but a supervisor of paramedics, very well could under one of the other exemptions.

In any case, the last two days you worked would be paid at the rate your employer offered as you do not get to choose what your rate is. You may decide not to accept it and quit, but you do not get to decide that you don't want it to change and therefore get paid at the higher rate. It does not work that way.

Unemployment has nothing to do with whether or not you had a contract for a set rate. They honestly don't care. If you wre making X and your employer wanted to start paying you Y and you quit, that could entitle you to benefits but it does not meanthat your employer did anything wrong in changing your rate to Y. The ALJ can not deem a contract enforceable. All the ALJ decides is whether or not you left employment for a reason that either qualifies you or disqualifies you for benefits. The decision has no bearing on the legality of any other aspect of your employment. Receiving UC does not mean your employer did anything improper or illegal. The vast majority of those who receive UC were terminated for perfectly legal reasons and have no cause for legal action.

Only a lawyer who has reviewed all the facts can tell you whether or not you have a case.