I work for UPS 35 yrs. I am a Teamster. In New Hampshire I have been doing a combo job 22.3 It was listed as inside clerical, hazard responder, air driver. I was making top rate. Approx. 4 yrs ago my center manager stopped my DOT card because they were not sending me out delivering. In March my center manager removed air driver from my job descriptionand payroll " reclassified " me and removed $4.96 per hr from my pay. As of now he is setting up my DOT physical for my card and is attempting to reinstate my rate. My question is am I entitled to back pay and penalties ? The union says no. He is doing the "right thing". We are talking about approx. $1200.00
Hello and welcome.Whether you would be entitled to any back pain in this situation would typically depend on the terms of the union agreement that was in force during the period. If the agreement requires backpay to be paid to an employee where a misclassification occurs, then there would typically be a basis for pursuing the backpay.If there is no such provision in place, then the issue would be open for argument typically. Normally I would look to past practices by the employer and union, as that is often used as precedent by a court in determining whether an employee is entitled to backpay.If you wish to pursue the matter, it would be best to retain a local attorney to represent you, especially since the union is indicating that there is no entitlement to the backpay. I would want to know on what legal basis they are making that statement.But if you should have been classified in your current position all along, it would certainly be worth pursuing a claim for the backpay you would have been entitled to if the parties had properly classified you in the first place.
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My apologies, I meant back pay, not back pain of course. I am getting used to a new device to save on my hands and I haven't perfected it yet apparently. Thank you for your understanding.