Legal Question in Employment Law in Virginia

pay deduction without notice

I recently quit working at Damon's grill on the George Mason University Campus. I was originally hired as a lead server for a pay rate of $7.00 an hour plus tips. I did not know until I saw my most recent paycheck that my pay rate had been dropped to $2.13 an hour plus tips. I was not notified by my manager and when I spoke with him about it after I got the reduced rate paycheck he simply said ''we were overpaying you''. I spoke with the VA Dep. of Labor and was told that legally my pay rate could not be changed unless I was notified and agreed. They also told me that my rate could not be dropped from 7 to 2.13 an hour, but could only be dropped to 5.15 an hour. Is there any legal action I can take against the business. I counted on being paid 7 dollars an hour for my work and because I was paid one third of that I now don't have the money I counted on to pay bills.


Asked on 11/16/05, 4:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: pay deduction without notice

Sure, you could file a case in small claims court for less than $40 for the amount that you believe that you're owed. However, I believe that restaurants routinely pay their servers considerably less than the federal minimum wage

($5.15 per hour)with the justification that with tips, the average server will make at least the federal minimum, if not more.

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Answered on 11/16/05, 11:35 pm


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