Employer is not paying me while out on medical absence
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (area)
First i’ll state that this an alt account for anonymity reasons.
Just for some background, I’m a 30 y/o male working in a machine/factory related industry. The company I work for is relatively new (6 years of business), however we are rapidly expanding in terms of area and profit.
I’ve had lower back pain the majority of my life. I developed scoliosis at a young age, played sports my whole adolescence, and have worked hard manual labor for a good portion of my adulthood.
In November my back pain got incredibly out of control, developing new symptoms than I had experienced up until this point. Long story short I had two herniated discs as well as other findings, and just had an operation to correct these issues this past week. I will be off 4-6 weeks minimum before returning to light duty for several more weeks until cleared to physically perform my work tasks.
My employer has been well aware of these back pain related troubles since November, and understood that surgery may be an outcome down the line (albeit sooner than expected). I had been told over and over again that I would be “taken care of” when it came to needing time off for said surgery. This is still somewhat of a ma and pa type ran business. While we do have great insurance, there is no official HR department, no liaison or anybody to oversee circumstances like this.
A month ago when I found out I was to have surgery, conversations were had about how to move forward. I was told initially I could be temporarily laid off to then collect unemployment. Shady? Sure, considering our profits are through the roof and an audit would show no immediate need for downsizing/lack of work. Coming closer to my surgery, even the week leading up to, no more discussions were had nor written documents provided. In hindsight I’m well aware I should have found a way to get something in writing, but at a “family run” business where we’re all very close, I didn’t think I’d have to worry.
Today I received my paystub, and the only hours paid were the one day I had worked on the pay period, my entire allotted PTO bank, as well as a $1,000 non compete contract bonus that I haven’t officially signed. Altogether the final take home was considerably less than what I make in a 2-week period.
I called my supervisor, who is a friend of mine and acted as the middle man for all of this dialogue, to essentially be given the run around. I was told there were more conversations had about other colleagues donating PTO for me to be paid, as well as the temporary layoff solution still up in the air.
I’m sorry for the long winded post. I’m not sure how to go about this and have nobody reputable to vent to on the subject. Thank you in advanced.
TL:DR - Out of work post back surgery, uncompensated by employer when told multiple times I’d receive pay for missed hours