AboutTimmy Chou Expertise I am a experienced Mediator and a partner in a management consulting firm. As a mediator I work as a third-party neutral and specialize in partnership/shareholder disputes, management/labor issues, company culture difficulties, and family-owned business problems. I can help describe why alternative dispute resolution may be a good choice for you. As an experienced management consultant I may be able to offer creative ideas to help resolve your organizational and business problems and disputes. "If you say conflict, I say opportunity".
Question I was recently terminated from my job of 8 years as a mechanic/salesman for a used car dealership in wisconsin.
I was told that due to the industry being slow and from lack of sales my position was being terminated. My employer has for the past few years been "banking" my overtime hours (overtime being > 80 hrs. in a two week pay period). I also have 24 hours of unused vacation time i was set to take a the end of this month. Is my employer obligated to pay any of that. If so how many years can i go back and get payment for my overtime. I do have full records of time cards and paystubs to prove this claim. Thanks for your time, Brett
Answer Sorry for the delay in responding. I was not notified by the system of your question and only discovered it when responding to another questioner.
Mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.
The case you describe here is far too typical and can be considered a "classic" workplace dispute presentation. I am not a lawyer and cannot mediate this with you alone but I can respond to your question from my business consulting experience.
Note that this issue may have legal ramifications and you may wish to consult a labor attorney.
It may be useful for you to consider that right and wrong are not always the most useful places to begin in dealing with these sorts of problems. Usually parties to labor disputes seek a result that is in their own interests, and if there is collateral damage that is "wrong" as a result, so be it. As you have experienced, you may be sacrificed on the alter of expediency. Remember that your person-hood and your work are not even remotely related and that the issues are here are not likely to be personal, even though it feels like it.
My initial reaction is that your employer IS obligatd to pay these amounts, and may have violated the law as well. You should immediatly consult the Dept. of Labor or the Wisconsin labor office to understand the rules that apply. Next, assuming the rules are explicit concerning your situation (and I think they are), calculate what you think you are owed for the entire amount of your employment and send a certified letter demanding the full sum within 15 days. Make sure you copy the dept of Labor and the State office, and make sure the letter notes that you copied these agencies. Do this quickly because many state statutes allow for TREBLE damages if you make demand within a set amount of time, but i am not up on Wisconsin law.
Most Bar associations will offer a referral service and you can consult with an attorney for free. Call them.
Also, you will be able to file a complaint with the DOL or the State employment office. If the company does not comply do it right away. This costs you nothing.
in my experience, the agencies take a very dim view of people screwing with someone's pay and you will see some action.
You can also get the press to cover your story and write an article on it, or cover it on TV.
Be sure the company is clear that absent a fair settlement you will tell your story far and wide. This may add to your overall leverage.
As you can see this could become a real cat fight, take a
long time and cost allot of money. You may be in the right, but you should count the cost to yourself in seeking justice. It will be a tough road.
If the company and/or the is convinced that: 1) you are not going away; 2) you are going to raise hell and tell everyone; and 3) it will likely cost more money to deal with you than it would to settle with you; than they will make a business decision and take care of you.
These are some ideas. Feel free to follow up with additional questions.
For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.
GOOD LUCK!
Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation
Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system
Benefits of Arbitration:
Confidential, no public record
Limited exchange of documentation, information
Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
Cheaper than litigation
Preserves business relationships
Negatives of Arbitration
It's a compromise, no 0 winner
Complex arbitration can be costly
If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process
Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.
Benefits of Mediation:
Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
Can be quicker than litigation
Less costly than litigation
Preserves business relationships
85 of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions
Negatives of Mediation
may not reach a binding decision
unskilled mediator
Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes
Benefits of litigation:
a clear winner and loser
uses a prescribed set of procedures
more predictable outcomes
is final
Negatives of Litigation:
waiting for court dates can do more harm
usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
part of the public record
