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My daughter is being paid less than minimum wage, what can she do!

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    My daughter is being paid less than minimum wage, what can she do!

    I'm looking for some help for my daughter. She has been working for a day care center for about 3 years, from it's inception. She was seeking employment through BVR, I think it's Bureau for Vocational Rehabilitation. She has a learning disability and it is hard for her to find a job, especially one that she can perform well. The BVR continued to help her look for other employment, but nothing came up.
    The day care owner has not been paying her minimum wage. Every time we talked our daughter into asking for a raise, the lady would raise her daily pay, and then increase her hours. There were times that we calculated her only being paid $3-$4 an hour. She was always told a raise was coming, but owner had to get the inspections done first, get more clients, wait on the voucher machine, and then again, more clients, waiting on clients to pay, etc. There was always some reason why she didn't give the raises to her employees. When pay day came, my daughter sometimes had to wait a week to get it, it was almost always short, and never seemed to get caught up. Many times, she had to bring food because there was no food to feed the kids and for a long time, was not reimbursed the cost. We did put a stop to that, with her financial situation, we bought the cereal and milk and snacks several times for her to take in.

    My daughter continued to work for her because she loved the work, she was well-liked by the kids and staff, and she was otherwise unemployed. A little money, was better than no money. The woman pays with money orders, does not deduct taxes of any kind, and did not provide a 1099 Form when my daughter asked for it. My daughter quit 2 weeks ago but has still worked a few days when they called her. They offered her a raise and brought her pay to $30.00 a day. Most days she worked 6-7 hours. She previously had been working those hours for $20 day. Sometimes she worked a double shift, and was promised another $20 (not overtime!) but the extra usually never made it on her money order.

    She does not have good records, What can she do to turn this lady in. Who can we call, does she have a claim even though she cannot provide documents as to her hours and the amounts of her money orders. With her disability, she is not good at keeping records and with her pay never right, it was hard to try an figure out exactly how many hours she was getting paid for. We would have reported it earlier, but she was afraid of loosing her only income at the time. She held out hope that it would work out for her. Any advice would be appreciated.
    Ch13 filed 1/13/11, 341 held 2/17/11, Confirmed 3/23/11
    1% to unsecured creditors
    25 down, 15 to go! Thanks to all for your help here on the Forum!

    #2
    The Department of Labor handles wage and hour problems. This business is certainly breaking many laws. Not taking SS and IRS out as well as workman's comp etc could get the business closed quite quickly. If she is paid by Money order, how many copies has she made? You can make a complaint against the license as well. As far as going back, most likely those records don't exist unless you can organize a sting with the DOL. I would make an effort with the authorities as the business is breaking Federal Laws as well as local laws. Proving history without receipts may be the problem.

    As far as another job for her, Walmart is very good about hiring older and/or "challenged" people. Help her fill out a job ap and the Manager's name is always on top of a Walmart receipt. Talk to the manager to introduce your daughter to him/her. Drop the name and when the online apps come before his eyes she may get lucky. Walmart is very good to work for. 'Hub
    If I knew it all, would I be here?? Hang in there = Retained attorney 8-06, Filed 12-28-07, Discharge 8-13-08, Finally CLOSED 11-3-09, 3-31-10 AP Dismissed, Informed by incompetent lawyer of CLOSED status, October 14, 2010.

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      #3
      This post really burns me up. What sort of daycare is this? It sounds like it's run from the lady's home, which is perfectly fine, if she has a proper license, but I seriously doubt it. I think she's breaking more than just labor laws, AND she's taking advantage of your daughter's desperate need for employment. No parent would leave their child at this place if they knew of the shady way things are run.

      The food situation is what raised the red flag. If it's a full-time establishment (and I'm guessing it is, since your daughter works long hours), food is supposed to be provided, and certain nutritional guidelines must be met in order to receive and maintain a proper license. The state should be inspecting these things regularly, and even pop in for a "surprise" inspection each year. They need to verify that the freezer and cabinets are fully stocked, with properly labeled food. Leftover food, and even baby bottles, have to be stored and labeled a certain way, with the date clearly marked to ensure that it all stays fresh. If the lady is having the staff bring whatever they can afford on their stingy pay, then chances are it doesn't quite meet the criteria.

      You definitely need to put a stop to this. Check your state's licensing laws.

      ETA: I worked at a day care in GA for many years.
      Last edited by bookworm; 09-19-2013, 07:05 AM.
      Filed Chapter 7: March 19, 2012
      Discharged! June 28, 2012
      CLOSED!!! August 8, 2012

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        #4
        Thanks for the advice. This is an actual licensed DC Ctr in a building. She has a voucher machine so she gets paid from the state for most of the children.

        I know for a fact that this daycare center is wrong on so many levels. Power has been cut off more than once. The times that happened, "paychecks" were a week late. She has 1 employee that has had several complaints from parents, and was told by a parent that someone they knew worked with this employee at another DC Center and was fired for abusing the children. That employee is still there, only working 3 hrs a day, but still there and still receiving complaints from parents.

        My daughter said last week she pulled out files of former employees and put them with all the current employee files so when an inspector came, it showed she had more employees than she actually did. She manages to get through the inspections by the skin of her teeth.

        Last week, $90 disappeared from the office. Because it was on my daughter's shift, they deducted it from her paycheck that was already 3 days late. She should have gotten $150, but ended up with $10. Not even enough to put fill her car.

        Thanks for letting me know about Walmart, we will look into that. Any other comments and advice are welcome.
        Last edited by AngelinaCat; 09-19-2013, 07:04 PM. Reason: long post broken into paragraphs to make it easier to read.
        Ch13 filed 1/13/11, 341 held 2/17/11, Confirmed 3/23/11
        1% to unsecured creditors
        25 down, 15 to go! Thanks to all for your help here on the Forum!

        Comment


          #5
          Okay, now I really am mad. And there isn't even a red-faced smiley on here to express it. Blow the whistle on this place.
          Filed Chapter 7: March 19, 2012
          Discharged! June 28, 2012
          CLOSED!!! August 8, 2012

          Comment


            #6
            Sounds like this place needs to go for all concerned. Do everyone a favor and turn em in.

            Comment


              #7
              Please let us know what you end up doing. I think you would be doing the children a huge favor in the long run--though the parents may not like having to suddenly find new daycare.

              Good wishes to your daughter!
              Last edited by AngelinaCat; 09-19-2013, 07:05 PM. Reason: spelling
              "To go bravely forward is to invite a miracle."

              "Worry is the darkroom where negatives are formed."

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