I have been working as an employee for Sport and Health since June of 2010 in Maryland. I was not given an employee ID and told I would get paid when I was given an ID #. I was told when i returned from vacation that I did not work enough in June and he would not pay me because he felt I did not work enough and then went on vacation. I worked in July and still did not have an employee ID #, I finally got paid one check with 11 hours for a two week period. Then my next check in August 27th was direct deposit and I did not yet receive an earnings statement. I am pretty sure I am not being paid as I should be. I have a letter that I have not sent yet to the CEO of the company explaining the details to see if he will meet with me or if he can take care of this issue. I don't want to be a Whistleblower, but I am pretty sure they are violating labor laws. This is in the state of Maryland. What advice would you recommend? When I approach my supervisor he either is too busy or like he said before he doesn't feel that he needs to pay me for my work in June, and it's like he is ignoring July pay as well. Below is my letter to the CEO. What do you recommend that I do?

J.A.
I am writing to you in your position as CEO of Sport and Health. You have seen from my free clinics and client interactions on Saturday mornings that I am an enthusiastic trainer and relate easily to Sport and Health’s members. Even last weekend, one of the “deadest” of the year, I sold 7 training packages. Vernon (Fitness Director for Sport and Heath) told me on this past Monday evening that he needed one more package sold to meet the $10,000 goal. I did it. I give 120% in the jobs to which I commit. I am happy to be a part of the team at Sport and Health and wish to remain here. However, multiple serious problems (from my point of view) need to be addressed immediately in order for me to remain.

I have been employed by Sport and Health since the first week of June. I spent a great deal of time initially getting to know the members and what they liked and did not like about the club and its trainers. I left June 25th for a 2 week adventure trip to Peru – as I had informed Vernon at my pre-employment interviews. I worked 3 weeks in June and was told that I would be paid when I received an employee ID number. I returned on July12th to work at S&H and still did not have a paycheck, even though I worked more than the requested 12 hours a week and attended the June 9th “Smart Start” training at Regency. It was explained to me that I still did not have an employee ID number, so I could not get a check. I was assured that eventually I would be paid for my work. I am confused as to why it takes more than a day for a business to issue an employee ID number. But being a team player, I went along even though I had significant bills to pay. I am now very behind in payments and feel that S&H has not honored their promises to me.

When I was hired, I was told to sign a form saying that I received an employee handbook. To this day, I have never received one, though it was a condition of employment. I was supposed to be shown how to sign onto the S&H intranet to check emails and view policies and procedures. Yet as of September 1st, I have not been shown. I was told that I would receive $8 an hour for 12 “floor hours” a week. I was told that “Smart Starts” would pay $8 additional per session. I was told that my starting salary for member purchased training sessions would be $44 an hour session and $28 a half hour session. I was told that I would additionally receive a commission for all training packages I sold. This is what I understood when I accepted the job.

All along, I have tried to meet with Vernon to correct these issues as they arise. Unfortunately, he is so busy that he never had the time to devote to these issues. It is now September 1st. For my 10 weeks of employment, I have been paid a grand total of $242.49 by Sport and Health. I did not even get reimburse for the poorly paying “Smart Starts”, as just recently I was told there is a special form to fill out - a form that I was never told about before, even at our June 9th seminar. I had originally just sent the names to Vernon as had been requested by him.

I have yet to receive any pay stub explaining what I was paid for, how much was gross, and what my taxes were. I have not been paid as promised for my significant work and contributions to the success of S&H. Worse yet, given the dismal state of the orientation and communication I have experienced, I do not foresee how I can ever be paid properly. It is only through the kindness of the other trainers that I learn

Optional Information:
State/Country relating to question: Maryland

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I have talked to my supervisor and he told me he felt that I did not work enough in june to be paid. He doesn't have Personal trainers punch into the time clock. I was patient because I was told I could not be paid with out an employee id number and that I would be paid when I did get a number. My director called me into his office and told me that he would not pay me for my work that I had done because he was starting over with me and it was like it was going to be my first day. This is at the end of July 2010. I had already been working part time there since June. They haven't given me an orientation or handbook as promised. I am not sure what to do. I wrote a letter that I haven't mailed yet to the CEO.