I am a healthcare provider and I am salaried. Because of the coronavirus crisis, we have fewer patients at the clinic and my employer is trying to dock hours from our paycheck. He said that starting immediately, we are gonna be paid hourly, and he is making employees stay home and/or go home early (even though we are not sick, nor requested the time off). He is playing the "we are experiencing an emergency and we have to be selfless" card, and he is telling us that the alternative will be laying off employees. I have no doubt this is highly illegal, but my question is: if I refuse this agreement and tell my employer to follow the contract I signed when I got hired, and he ends up firing me or laying me off as a consequence, can the DOL do anything about it? I feel like I have only 2 choices: accept the absurd offer or get fired.
If you have an enforceable employment contract, generally, an employer must comply with that contract. Generally, with regard to most at-will employees in Texas, an employer may reduce employees' hours and pay so long as the employer complies with the FLSA and other applicable laws. Assuming, based on your facts, that an employer is threatening to violate an enforceable contract agreement or else fire you, your available remedies depend on the terms of that contract. The DOL would likely not be involved because it would be a breach of contract issue, not a wage-and-hour law issue. I recommend you speak with an attorney who can advise you based on your specific situation.
