In many cases, your employer does have the ability to reduce your pay rate. This is true whether you are receiving a salary or an hourly rate. You may believe that it is unfair, especially if the pay rate was disclosed to you at the beginning and that was the reason you took the job, but that does not necessarily mean it is illegal.
That said, your employer does have to reduce your pay rate correctly. As an employee, it is important for you to know when your rights may have been violated. Let’s take a look at a few examples.
Reducing pay in the past
To begin with, your employer can reduce your pay rate for future hours, but not past hours that you have already worked. For instance, if you are earning $40 an hour, they can come to you and tell you that you will only be making $35 an hour moving forward. But they cannot tell you that you are only going to be paid $35 an hour for any hours that you already logged.
Illegal reasons
Additionally, your employer cannot reduce your pay for a reason that is itself illegal. If the pay reduction is based on a protected class like age, race, religion, gender or pregnancy status, then it is an example of discrimination. If the pay reduction is based on legally protected actions that you took, like reporting workplace safety issues or instances of sexual harassment, then it could be a form of illegal retaliation. So just because it applies to future hours does not necessarily mean it is a legal reduction.
If you have received a pay reduction and you believe it may have been done illegally, then it is important for you to understand exactly what legal steps you can take to protect your rights moving forward.