A recent proclamation by a university president had some hopeful that fair pay would be strengthened in the state. In 2015, the University of California unveiled a new policy that set a $15 hourly minimum wage for employees, but two years later some employees are crying foul. One worker claims that he is paid using two separate names in order to avoid overtime pay.
The contract food service worker has issued pay stubs through the union that show he worked over 100 hours in two weeks and was paid only $10.15 an hour. The union requested anonymity for the employee because he is afraid of losing his job. Another employee who worked for an outside contractor at the university reports being paid only $12 per hour, much less than direct UC employees are paid.
The school has said that individuals who work on a contract that was created before the policy change are still able to pay less than the $15 per hour wage. Some claim that the school has used outside contracting as a loophole to avoid its own policies for higher wages. It is unclear whether the contractors are able to be tracked or prove they are in compliance with policies through audits.
The California school maintains that it is in transition, and accountability is coming soon. The overtime issue has not yet been settled. Employees are typically entitled to overtime wages for hours worked over 40 hours per week. An worker facing a similar issue may wish to consult with an employment law attorney to investigate his or her options for receiving earned wages.
Source: mercurynews.com, “Workers at some UC campuses say they don’t earn fair wages“, Emily Deruy, Accessed on Nov. 8, 2017