Salaries and Yom Tov

amother

Firebrick

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 5:49 pm

Hi everybody, hoping I could get some opinions.
My husband works as a mashgiach in a small kosher shop. The owner is a frum Israeli man.
He's been working there for about 8 months. Since he started working his boss told him he will pay him on a salary $3000 each month. He calls it a salary but I'm actuality it is not a salary. When my husband works extra hours, he pays him (doesn't pay overtime, just pays him 15 an hour) .
But here's the issue: if he is told to work an extra 2 days (2 Sundays in the month for instance) and those two days are near a Yom tov where the whole store had off (second days of sukkos...), His boss will say "you took off for second days so I would make your weekly check of $750 lower because you missed two days, but since you are working an extra 2 days, I will make your check for a complete $750 like usual."
Do you think that's fair? I also want to add the my husband and is working 52 hours every week and does not get paid enough for all those hours. That's 12 hours that should be paid overtime according to the law in our state. So he is already working a decent amount of hours to deserve his "salary" of 3000 even if he didn't have to work on Yom tov! Its not his choice if he could work Yom tov or not! The store isn't open! Why should we make less money that month because of the calendar if he is supposed to pay with a salary.
Also any accountants out there know what kind of taxes he should be doing? The boss said he doesn't want to add him to the payroll so basically we are stuck paying like 15 percent instead of the boss paying some. So we are only left with under $2500 of take home pay each month!
Does this sound fair or normal to anyone or is my husband getting suckered into thinking that it's normal for his boss to do this?

LittleDucky

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 6:05 pm

I am not an accountant or lawyer but you should look into whether the boss can legally put him in "independent contractor" status in which you pay both sides of social security etc. independent contractors are typically those who pay their own costs of employment (supplies), set their own hours and are their own boss basically... If there are enough requirements/demands on him, he would be a regular employee.

Now, what is in his contract? Does he get vacation? Does he get penalized for taking vacation? If the place is closed then he should be paid full salary as it technically wasn't his choice to take off...

You didn't say what state but if he is salary, he may not have to be paid overtime even if he is working 60 hours a week.

I definitely would say consult with an expert and keep records....

superjew1

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 6:11 pm

I think the biggest problem is his boss didn't want to make a contract at the beginning because we weren't sure how long he would work there/if he would like it. So he has no contract.
Another problem is that although I believe how he is getting paid is illegal and the boss is not being fair but he is family friends with my husbands family.... We always heard it's not a good idea to work with family or friends but we did it

gibberish

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 6:36 pm

I understand that your husband is actually getting paid at an hourly rate and not on a salary. Yes, his boss is required to pay him a time and a half overtime for any hours worked over 40 and can get hit with huge penalties for not complying with the law. On the flip side, business owners are not required to pay hourly employees for when they are closed.
Your husband is definitely being taken advantage of, and I would advise him to demand of his employer all the overtime pay owed to him.

amother

Cerise

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 8:48 pm

Just to clarify, a contractor would pay an additional 7.65% in taxes. This is the amount the employer matches.

How much taxes you would need to actually pay depends on various factors. Both earned income credit and child tax credits are refundable credits and can be applied to self employment taxes.

Also, a contractor might not be covered for disability, unemployment, or workers comp.