Dear sirs ,I was a former taxi cab driver with a local cab company called "A-Cab Taxi" llc. I was employed as a driver in the same year the company was founded back in the year 2000 . I worked my way up through the ranks and became a supervisor. At the time I was terminated,I was told that because my daily revenue turn in was too low,that I was being let go for a term the company called "Low book". the company set the daily drivers goal at $220.00 per twelve hour shift. As of 2007 the federal Labor Law states that because cab drivers are not hourly,they and are commisioned,that they still meet the criteria for mininum wage compensation. I was interviewed by an investigator from the Federal Labor board who took my written complaint of not being compensated under the mininum wage law act of 2007.I feel I was wrongfully terminated.What can you do?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Nevada Already Tried: Waiting for a reply from the labor board since april of 2011.Jenny Cheng is the person assigned to interview past and present drivers, but has stated that "A-Cab" has a team of lawyers that is dragging their feet and not providing documentaion to support or discalim any and all allegations fom drivers.
Welcome! I am a licensed attorney and am happy to answer your legal questions. I can only give you general legal information not legal advice.
Failure to compensate you properly based on the wage and hour laws is a separate issue from whether or not you have a legal claim for wrongful Termination.
You are correct that taxi drivers must be paid minimum wages in accordance with the constitutional amendment that provided for this change in Nevada. However that does not mean an employer cannot terminate an employee who fails to meet their performance standards, because the State of Nevada is an employment "At Will" state.
In Nevada, the basic rule is that every employment relationship is presumed to be terminable at the will of either party. This means either the employer or the employee may terminate the employment relationship for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all.
Exceptions to this default rule are when the termination violates a statute or public policy or if the employer creates an "implied contract" for example by having an employee handbook or employment policies that make an "implied" promise that an employee can only be terminated for certain defined reasons.
A collective bargaining agreement (employees who are union members) or other form of Employment Contract may impose additional limits on the permissible grounds and processes for dismissal.
There are a few other exceptions to "at-will employment:
1. Termination in violation of anti-discriminatory laws such as Title VII which prevents termination for discriminatory reasons based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age and/or religion.
2. Termination based on retaliatory reasons (example, retaliating against an employee for filing a workers compensation claim, or for serving on a jury).
3. Termination for participating in protected activity (Retaliation against whistle blowers - such as reporting wage and hour violations to the Department of Labor or for testifying for a co-worker who filed a discrimination claim against the employer).
Even absent any express employment contract there is still the possibility that a court may find that provisions of an employee handbook constitute an implied employment contract. If your employer has inserted a disclaimer into such a policy statement or handbook it may be sufficient to escape a finding by a court that an employment contract exists. Any such disclaimer should be clearly visible, in bold type, and should plainly state that the handbook is not a contract and that employment may be terminated at any time.
Similarly, any list provided to employees as potential grounds for dismissal
or the like should include a conspicuous and clear statement that the list is not intended to be all inclusive. Any procedures described should be accompanied by a statement that the company may deviate from any or all such procedures at any time.
As far as the wage and hour violation - failure to pay minimum wages to you, you can either wait for the Department of Labor (DOL) to complete their investigation or you can file a civil lawsuit against the company.
A local employment attorney can advise you on the feasibility of pursing a lawsuit. The advantage of waiting for the Department of Labor is that it is at no cost to you, as opposed to paying an attorney at $200.00 to 500.00 per hour to take your case, unless you find an attorney willing to take your case on a contingency basis (meaning you only pay if you win).
You need to be aware of the statute of limitations on bringing a lawsuit, however so that you don't allow the time to file a lawsuit to expire.
Check out the following link for more information about the wage and hour laws in Nevada and talk to a local attorney about the feasibility of filing a lawsuit who can give you specific advice after reviewing all of the facts in your case, as we are only allowed to give you general legal information as opposed to specific legal advice.
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-608.html
Also review the following: http://www.taxi-library.org/nevada-min-wage-flyer.pdf