Imagine starting a new job and thinking everything is great until you see your paycheck. Your regular pay looks right, but overtime is missing. What would you do if the owner seemed to dismiss your concerns about the missing overtime pay? Would you press the issue, drop it, or report the owner for wage theft?

In this story, one new employee was in this situation, and he first talked to his coworkers about. That was quite enlightening!

Then, he talked to the owner about it, and that wasn’t very helpful at all.

Now, he’s thinking about reporting the owner even though he knows it could cost him his job.

What’s the best way to handle this situation? Let’s read the whole story to decide.

WIBTA for reporting my new job to the wage and hour division for not paying me overtime?

I just started a new job 2 weeks ago and recently got my first check.

I was paid 43 hours at regular time rate, no overtime pay included, I checked the math.

My coworkers informed me that we don’t get paid overtime. On the caveat that if we work overtime on Saturday it is paid out in cash ( still not time and a half mind you).

One guy has been working here for 10 years and has told the owner that it is illegal.

The owner doesn’t seem too eager to pay overtime.

Apparently the owners “books are good” according to the owner.

I asked the owner about the missing amount on my check.

He said he would take care of it today.

I saw him pull up to the job site, talk to the foreman and leave.

He’s considering reporting the owner.

Later, I texted him about it again asking if he got it sorted. He simply replied “[foreman] said the guys already talked to you.” And he hasn’t responded to me again yet after I said “excuse me?”

(I obviously had already talked to them, but that didn’t answer my question about the missing pay from him)

Now I am considering reporting him to the wage and hour division within the week if he continues to refuse to pay. I completely accept that he may pay me, then fire me and find some other idiot willing to work and not get overtime pay.

So, wibta for reporting the company?

Reporting the owner sounds like a good idea. What he’s doing is illegal, and if nobody reports him, he’ll continue.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who figured out how to stop his manager from constantly stealing his phone charger.

Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

Here’s a vote for reporting him.

There would probably be consequences for reporting him.

Here’s another warning that he might lose his job.

But this person points out why it’s important to report him.

It sounds like this employee has come to terms with the fact that he might lose his job. If he continues to work there and doesn’t report the owner, he has to accept the fact that he won’t get paid overtime and neither will any of his coworkers. That doesn’t sound like a very good situation to be in.

If he does report him, it’s likely that he’ll lose his job, but maybe, just maybe, the boss will learn his lesson and actually start paying out overtime. Or, perhaps, the boss could have a new rule where nobody is allowed to work overtime. If he’s unwilling to pay overtime, the employees should be unwilling to work overtime.