Labor law: sanction for employer not paying minimum wage?

B

Barnabe

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An other question about labor law: there is a minimum wage but apparently, many employers, including in the formal sector, do not respect it.

Are there any sanctions for companies not paying the minimum wage? Do employees have a possibility to demand the company?

Thanks,

Barnabe
 
K

Ken

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Barnabe said:
An other question about labor law: there is a minimum wage but apparently, many employers, including in the formal sector, do not respect it.

Are there any sanctions for companies not paying the minimum wage? Do employees have a possibility to demand the company?

Thanks,

Barnabe
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I have no personal experience with this but would certainly think that employees being paid less than the mandated minimum for the category their employer is in could go to the local office of the labor department and make a claim.

Also, there are many labor lawyers, all of whom I am sure would be happy to take the case for a percentage of what they get from the employer.
 
waytogo

waytogo

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Is there a current chart available that shows the minimum wage amounts and categories.............

B in Santiago
 
B

Barnabe

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waytogo said:
Is there a current chart available that shows the minimum wage amounts and categories.............

B in Santiago
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There is a general chart:
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/travail/docs/768/Resolución No.5.2011 Privado no sectorizado-Refrendada.pdf

Problems:
- there are special wages for specific sectors (construction, restaurants, hotels,..), for free zones. so it depends
- in that chart, the minimum wage depends on the size (the assets) of the company. As an emplyer, it's OK. As en employee, I am not sure it is easy to know what the minimum wage is in their company.
- the link on the Ministerio del Trabajo website for the "resoluciones vigentes" is a dead link..

Barnabe
 
B

Barnabe

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Fabio J. Guzman said:
The worker can claim back pay and damages as well as quit his job ( "dimisi?n") with right to liquidation.
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Thank you, Mr Guzman.

It sounds fairly logical.

This is the law, I understand. Now about the reality: do the Labor Juridictions apply the law (sorry if the question sounds stupid), and does an employee have a reasonable chance to get his money (liquidacion and compensation for insufficient wages)?

Barnabe
 
B

Barnabe

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The Secretaria de Trabajo said to the employee: the minimum salary only applies to new work contracts. since you have had a contract for 7 year, this is the salary at the date of contract that is taken into account (art 213 del codigo de trabajo)

To me, it sounds like a complete nonsense, but I am not a lawyer.

Any opinion based on law or jurisprudence please?

Thank you,

Barnab?
 
K

Ken

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Barnabe said:
The Secretaria de Trabajo said to the employee: the minimum salary only applies to new work contracts. since you have had a contract for 7 year, this is the salary at the date of contract that is taken into account (art 213 del codigo de trabajo)

To me, it sounds like a complete nonsense, but I am not a lawyer.

Any opinion based on law or jurisprudence please?

Thank you,

Barnab?
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We have never interpreted it that way and I'd be surprised if others have. When the Salary Commission increases the minimum wage, we increase the salary of those earning the minimum wage no matter how long they have been employed. If you don't do that you create a very serious morale problem, with long-time valued employees paid less, perhaps quite a bit less, than new hires.

I suggest you talk with a labor lawyer and see what he says based on his experience.
 
B

Barnabe

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Ken said:
We have never interpreted it that way and I'd be surprised if others have. When the Salary Commission increases the minimum wage, we increase the salary of those earning the minimum wage no matter how long they have been employed. If you don't do that you create a very serious morale problem, with long-time valued employees paid less, perhaps quite a bit less, than new hires.

I suggest you talk with a labor lawyer and see what he says based on his experience.
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I agree with you, it is common sense and justice, and when I had my business I always increased as you are doing.

Thanks,

Barnab?
 
B

Barnabe

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Ken said:
When you read the news releases about the decision of the Salary Commission to increase the minimum wage, it seems very clear that it was expected that employees earning the old minimum would get the new minimum.

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2011/5/18/39594/Dominican-Republics-minimum-wage-increased-17

There must be something in what was presented to Labor that we don't know about.
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You are probably right, because thinking it over, I can't imagine this is how things work, and Labor replying such (apparent) nonsense.

Barnab?
 
drstock

drstock

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Barnabe said:
Thank you, Mr Guzman.

It sounds fairly logical.

This is the law, I understand. Now about the reality: do the Labor Juridictions apply the law (sorry if the question sounds stupid), and does an employee have a reasonable chance to get his money (liquidacion and compensation for insufficient wages)?

Barnabe
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I understand that the Labor Jurisdictions certainly do apply the law and come down heavily on the side of the employee, who has a good chance of getting his money.
 
K

Ken

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drstock said:
I understand that the Labor Jurisdictions certainly do apply the law and come down heavily on the side of the employee, who has a good chance of getting his money.
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That is correct. If the err, it is usually in favor of the employee.
 
waytogo

waytogo

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With minimum wage set for any given category........
insurances (medical etc.) are over and above the actual cash wages......
Or are insurances the company pays on your behalf (included) as part of wages paid.........

B in Santiago
 
K

Ken

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waytogo said:
With minimum wage set for any given category........
insurances (medical etc.) are over and above the actual cash wages......
Or are insurances the company pays on your behalf (included) as part of wages paid.........

B in Santiago
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The mandated benefits are in addition to the mandated minimum wages
 
waytogo

waytogo

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Ken said:
The mandated benefits are in addition to the mandated minimum wages
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Thank you Ken,

A girlfriend is working 9 hrs per day Monday thru Friday and 5-6 hrs on Saturday...
She started May of 2011 as a Dental Assistant and is still an assistant.
She was originally promised 8000 per month and she has never seen more than 6500.
They also deduct her med ins. from her wages.
She is also supposed to get a lunch break from 12-2 but almost on a daily basis they keep her until 1.
Now she was home sick on Tuesday and they want to deduct a days pay......
Does she have any recourse and what would the minimum wage be for a full-time dental assistant.
Normally min wage is set by the hour, is that different here.........
I have told her to start documenting every hour that she works.........

B in Santiago
 
K

Ken

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waytogo said:
Thank you Ken,

A girlfriend is working 9 hrs per day Monday thru Friday and 5-6 hrs on Saturday...
She started May of 2011 as a Dental Assistant and is still an assistant.
She was originally promised 8000 per month and she has never seen more than 6500.
They also deduct her med ins. from her wages.
She is also supposed to get a lunch break from 12-2 but almost on a daily basis they keep her until 1.
Now she was home sick on Tuesday and they want to deduct a days pay......
Does she have any recourse and what would the minimum wage be for a full-time dental assistant.
Normally min wage is set by the hour, is that different here.........
I have told her to start documenting every hour that she works.........

B in Santiago
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The employee does pay a portion of the benefits. I will check with the administrator of our condominium to see what that percentage. I should have mentioned that in my reply, but it had slipped my mind until I saw your follow up.

44 hours is the work week. Does the 9 hours include the 1+ hours for lunch you say she actually gets? In other words, does she work 8 hours a day, not including her break time?

I don't know what salary class she is in, but it sounds like she is under paid at 6500
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2011/5/18/39594/Dominican-Republics-minimum-wage-increased-17

Have her get a doctor's note for today indicating how many days she is not supposed to work because of illness. Dloctors are pretty generous with these things so she may even get more than 1 day.

As you can see from the above linked article on minimum wage, here it is by the month.
 
waytogo

waytogo

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She starts work at 8 am, lunch at 12 for 2 hours. Then 2-7, which totals 9 hours actual work time.
Plus Saturdays 8 to 1:30 or 2.........total 50-51 work hours per week.
The office manager has promised her several times that she would get paid for the extra time she stays during her lunch time but that has never materialized.
Also, her employer promised her and others that she would pay their concho expenditures and she has never paid one peso towards this. This comes to 1000 pesos per month.........
They just lie to her and she's afraid to speak up.......

B in Santiago
 
K

Ken

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waytogo said:
She starts work at 8 am, lunch at 12 for 2 hours. Then 2-7, which totals 9 hours actual work time.
Plus Saturdays 8 to 1:30 or 2.........total 50-51 work hours per week.
The office manager has promised her several times that she would get paid for the extra time she stays during her lunch time but that has never materialized.
Also, her employer promised her and others that she would pay their concho expenditures and she has never paid one peso towards this. This comes to 1000 pesos per month.........
They just lie to her and she's afraid to speak up.......

B in Santiago
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She can make a complaint to the labor office. That will get her what she is entitled to. But it may mean the end of her job.

If she doesn't want to risk losing her job by speaking up and/or going to the labor office to make a complaint, then you better just accept the situation for what it is.

Are there other jobs available elsewhere? Would she be hard to replace in her present employment?
 
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