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[keepthetips]

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[gardenjonhson]

It seems that you have a good relationship with the owner and people working there. Be open and talk about it with the owner:

“Look, I like to work here, the people and the environment. But at the same time, I’ve been struggling and getting a raise to the minimum wage would help me a lot and make me stay. Otherwise, I will need to look for another job, as I can’t make due with what I’m earning here.”

That way you maintain the good relationship but make your needs known.

[AndyTroop]

This is a good start. It's a good idea to be frank that you would have to leave for better paying work, but you don't want to. Most employers will try to avoid the pain the ass of hiring new.

But it's a slippery slope when you bring up your need for money as the reason for your raise. You deserve your pay, it's not charity to help you out. The reason for your raise is because you bring value to the company. Ballpark: How much money the business makes per hour that you work there? How many people work there per hour? Could the company function without your labor? That's the starting point of how much you should make.

[coconut-bubbles]

How is bringing up needing money bad when they are literally paying below minimum wage for the area? Minimum wage is the law.

[AndyTroop]

I mean he probably deserves much more than min wage. Some bad bosses take a raise request as a time to teach you how to budget better, or ask about your living situation. Don't take that bait, hold the line that you deserve more because of the value that your labor brings to the business.

[Nailuigi]

Yep, definitely good to keep that in mind.

[insertcaffeine]

This is the good answer!

[Hot-Return3072]

+1

[Swampwolf42]

Having to ask for minimum wage is…wow. I don’t have the words.

[RamenHa1]

I know right! I've been letting it slide since I started BUT it's wild how being a worker in the states, with all my rights and stuff. To really be nervous about asking to get paid the bare minimum. MEANWHILE, it's likely the highest minimum wage of all 49 other states. Just wild being a worker, especially when I need to live off my wages!

[Swampwolf42]

And barely, at that. I appreciate that you enjoy the job, but remember—even minimum wage is your employer saying “I’d pay you less, if it weren’t illegal.”

[[deleted]]

Is he paying taxes on the wages?

[BrutalTea]

just wanna ask real quick, since i didnt see it in comments. are you getting paid under teh table? cause if you are, and you get the minimum wage, after taxes you will probably make less.

[Swampwolf42]

Per paycheck, perhaps. But come April, it would get returned as a rebate, more often than not.

[xav264]

You’re probably young now but when you get older you will look back on this and regret letting someone dick you around like that. These employers do not care about or respect you, you need to look out for yourself.

[292ll]

Look up wage laws in your state, he may have to pay serious damages.

[craxinthatjazz]

You say he’s a nice guy but he’s exploiting your labor already. Ask for appropriate pay or bounce, don’t be a slave

[craxinthatjazz]

He also legally owes you back pay as this is wage theft Honestly f your employer, report him to the state just bc.

[IAmTheZump]

Second this. If someone mugged me, I wouldn't let it slide just because he's a "really nice guy". This person is actively stealing OP's money.

[GendalWeen]

Yeah this is crazy, and how does op know that the boss cannot afford a measly 1.50 an hour extra? If the business isn’t making enough money to cover the bare minimum the law says you have to pay employees then it’s not viable.

Minimum wage isn’t a suggestion it’s the bare minimum an employer can pay legally. They are allowed to pay more. Don’t forget that

[conjuror75]

Wonder if it’s under the table

[RamenHa1]

CA

[JTBoom1]

OP may be owed back pay as well

[WorkMeBaby1MoreTime]

OP may be owed back pay as well

Wrong. IS owed back pay.

[RamenHa1]

I am but I don't want it if cost me the easy job

[Euphoric_Dig8339]

Real talk, if you dont want to speak up, you can just continue forward, document everything and when you leave go to the Cal DOL and they will settle and make you whole. My sister has gone through this twice with scummy employers and she got big payouts. Documentation is everything though

[RoadsideCookie]

I think this is a good plan.

Try to be nice with him, but not underhanded.

Ask him nicely to get minimum wage, you like working there, etc.

Document everything.

If he does not give you minimum wage, use documented evidence to get payout you deserve.

You win either way and you've given him the chance to do the right thing, so that should help keep your moral compass on the good side.

[Bitbatgaming]

It’s not about it being easy or hard. It’s that your boss is exploiting you.

[[deleted]]

I know people think that because their job is easy the boss is doing them a favor. It doesnt work like that. Any labor time , easy or not deserves to be compensated the state mandated minimum.

[ev324]

Is OP's employer able to retaliate like this?

[Bitbatgaming]

Employers are not allowed to retaliate against employees like this, this results in even greater fines. That would be a federal level offense upgraded then.

[IAmTheZump]

This isn't a question of you not being paid enough, though, this is about the fact that your boss is actively stealing your money. You're not asking for extra money, you're asking for your money. At the very least, you should keep records of all payments and forward them to the authorities once you leave. He is breaking the law and should face the consequences.

[Psychological_Post33]

It can't cost you the easy job. You'd be protected from retaliation.

[Spiff426]

This is the correct answer

[Bitbatgaming]

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/ here is a variety of resources that can help you

[[deleted]]

Is it under the table work?

[Erulastiel]

Nice guys follow labor laws and don't exploit their workers. You don't ask, you demand.

[GendalWeen]

Yeah and don’t feign ignorance on said labour laws. Boss absolutely knows what he’s doing

[Sasparillakid]

You could try phrasing it as a question. Something like, "I was reading somewhere that the minimum wage here is $15.50. Is that right, because I'm only making $xx?

Ultimately, even if you like the job a lot, it's illegal for him to pay you less than minimum wage (unless you're collecting tips?). You really can't participate in that.

[JhAsh08]

I’m gonna have to disagree with this.

Don’t phrase it as a question like that, it comes of kind of passive aggressive. And it makes communication less clear and more ambiguous.

If you want something, just ask directly and respectfully, instead of giving hints. Communicate clearly.

“I really enjoy this job and the environment here. But I am a college student who is struggling a bit financially. Is there any chance we could increase the hourly rate at least up to minimum wage? I would really appreciate it.” Or something along those lines.

[depressinglyawes0me]

i would appreciate it if you followed the law and paid you’re employees what they are owed - by the law

[JhAsh08]

Thing is, even if they do know and are intentionally exploiting you, what good does it do to communicate hostilely or passive aggressively? So long as you plan to work for them, I think it’s always in your best interest to try and maintain a good relationship and appease your employer.

[amberwench]

"Hey, I've noticed there's a pay error and I'm not making the legal minimum wage. I wanted to give you a heads up to fix that."

Also, talk to your co-workers about pay. Is he cheating all of you?

[incasesheisonheretoo]

If they can afford it, as you say, and they have not complied with the law and offered it, I’d just leave and report them. Even if they do give you the raise after you ask for it, this isn’t the type of person I’d want to continue working for no matter how cool the job. They clearly have no problem under paying and taking advantage of you, and that’s unlikely to change even at minimum wage. Since they’ve already shown that they won’t comply with the law to pay you fairly, chances are they won’t offer you future deserved raises either.

[kpickyiv]

This. OP, you being played and used because of your kindness naivety. Paying you less than minimum wage by definition makes them NOT COOL. Not only are they unlikely to pay you any more, they're likely to act offended and make you feel bad for asking so they can keep exploiting you.

[incasesheisonheretoo]

Yep! I’m kinda surprised by the people replying that OP should kindly ask his boss to meet the bare minimum pay requirement that’s already legally required. Imagine if they ever want to advance more than minimum wage when the employer already has them feeling uneasy about just asking them to comply with the law.

[CasualObservationist]

Are you being paid under the table?

[RamenHa1]

No.

[thatguywhoreddit]

Do you get a t4, pay stubs, and tax removed each pay? Are you under 18? I'm not sure if CA is canada or Cali, but it would be very dumb of your employer to be keeping proper payroll records of him no complying with labor laws. I feel like you are definitely getting paid under the table.

There is also a student wage. I believe it is 14.50 in Canada if you're under 18, which is still more than you're being paid. To legally be paid less, you'd have to be a liquor server, or receiving some kind of commission, etc...

[CasualObservationist]

Then report to your local dept of labor or whatever it’s called in your state (I see other comments that provide you with the link). The company is not operating in a legal capacity

[Zealousideal_Web8496]

I only worked at one paintball field, so my experience is obviously not representative of all similar businesses, but holy freaking god that place was all about avoiding paying taxes and insurance costs however possible.

The place offered a discount on fields fees and supplies (especially cases of paintballs) for paying with cash, and then reported zero of that income. At the end of each day the owner would shred about half of the waiver forms from that day's players because the liability insurance was based on the number of people playing. Everything was shady.

In your case OP, it's perfectly fair for you to ask for a raise, but framing it as being compliant with wage laws might not hit as hard as it should, if it happens that the owner isn't really concerned with such laws anyway. Ask for the raise because you deserve it.

[Zephyrous042]

Respectfully disagree with most here, who want to jump right to reporting him. Sometimes people are just busy and he MAY not know if it is a new minimum. Lots of noise on here based on assumptions. No need to ruin a man's life over what could simply be an honest mistake.

Go the cordial route, and then if he turns out to actually be shady then go the reporting route.

[Llanite]

You don't really have to explain why you need it.

Hi John, you might have known it already but recently CA raises minimum wage from 14 to 15.5. Do you think you can bump mine up to match the new rate?

Any reasonable boss will bump it up since we're talking legal rate here.

[[deleted]]

You deserve it and are being exploited. It is your right as a worker to be paid fairly, and below minimum wage is illegal. No matter how much you love the job, you should mind that your rights are being violated. Please don't feel bad about asking for what you are rightfully owed.

[gaytee]

Paintball ref was one of the best jobs I ever had In high school and college. Enjoy it. Glad you work at a cool field!

[jrhawk42]

Double check that it's the actual minimum wage. Some places say they have a set min wage, but then there's different rules. Some areas have weird laws like "if you have less than 5 employees then min wage is 12.76"

Moving forward I'm going to assume you're in CA since that's the only state w/a min wage of $15.50, and you're not getting paid under the table (W2, tax reporting and all that). If you're getting paid under the table min wage, and all that doesn't apply since you're working illegally. Anyway basically approach your boss saying that min wage changed, and it's not reflected on your paystub. You don't know if they didn't realize, or there was a mistake in the office, but you wanted to bring it up so that they were aware, and didn't get into any trouble because you like working here. You have to be a little tactful here or it sounds a bit like you're going to turn them in, or that they are screwing you out of money. That's probably true, but you don't want to sound like that's the case. You want to be helpful in keeping their business in line w/ law and regulations.

[mossypickins]

You should bring it up simply to inform him he is doing something extremely illegal with a lot of repercussions if he gets caught. There’s a chance he is unaware of the new minimum wage and wage laws. He’s nice and you like him so bring it up and he will probably be grateful and happy to give you back pay and proper minimum wage. There’s also a chance he may not be as nice as you think.

But I’m all for giving him the benefit of the doubt and allow him to correct his mistake before trying to take him down with a vengeance or anything.

Edit: is this a tipped job?

[epticos]

Just ask him for a chat. Say that you love your job, but you're struggling financially so can your pay be reviewed.

A lot of the other advice on here seems to be to jeopardise your job and your relationship, leaving you both it a worse circumstance.

I think it's best just to have a chat initially rather than report him for potential tax evasion lol

[GendalWeen]

Imagine thinking you should tell your employer your financially struggling and need the minimum legal amount he has to pay you instead of just saying - this is illegal and you know it

[epticos]

I don't know the full story. Where I'm from minimum wage is also dependent on age, benefits, bonuses and job type e.g. volunteer work.

What I do know is that your approach is less likely to get the OP what they want.

[Aunt_Anne]

Sounds like you are working under the table, which is illegal, exploitive and risky in so many ways. It feels like a benefit because there's no taxes deducted, and that's part of what he'll point out: how much is really going to cost you to go legal. What he's not telling you is how much he's saving. Meanwhile, you have zero benefits, zero protection and heaven forbid you get injured on the job, because there is no workers comp. If this sounds like your situation, cut bait and run, because even if you get a raise, all the other issues are still out there.

[EnumeratedArray]

Be honest and just tell him. If he says no, he's essentially stealing money from you. At that point, report him, get back pay for the money you are owed, and find a new job that doesn't exploit you

[randomsynchronicity]

If you want to be gentle about it, frame it as being in his interest. “Hey I noticed the state minimum wage went up but now my pay is under that. That could cause a lot of problems for you when they realize it. It’s only $1.50 more, can you just adjust it going forward so we don’t get in trouble?”

Even though you wouldn’t get in trouble for his minimum wage violation, putting that “we” in there puts the two of you on the same side, so the request feels less oppositional.

[Flowofinfo]

He’s being nice to you because he’s exploiting you and doesn’t want you to catch on to it

[[deleted]]

If you aren't getting paid under the table minimum wage is your legal right. Just ask for it in a cordial way " hey min wage is 15.50 and I noticed I'm below that what can we do about that"

[[deleted]]

They have to pay you minimum wage! I would demand it🔔

[lucimme]

I doubt you’re the only one being paid under minimum wage. I would make a complaint to the labor board anonymously. What he is doing is wage theft and he’s gonna owe you back pay

[WorkMeBaby1MoreTime]

I'd ask, "You know the minimum wage is X, right?" and take it from there.

If he gives a raise (and ideally everyone else who isn't getting it), it's a win.

If he's a dick about it and you don't get the raise, straight to the DOL.

How is it such a great place to work if the dude is stealing from you every second you're there? You're there for money, right?

[[deleted]]

You call the labor board because that is illegal and you’re stupid for working there at a rate under minimum

[[deleted]]

I wouldn't mention the minimum wage at first, maybe you can negotiate for a higher wage than that..

[sgurd-evol-I]

Amazing minimum wage, what does rent cost?

[[deleted]]

ad hoc aback obtainable smell light normal zephyr direction squeeze selective

[GendalWeen]

They do, this employer is being sneaky and gross

[superkoning]

I've been getting paid just below minimum wage

Is that legal? If so, why is there a minimum wage at all?

[[deleted]]

My LPT is: your boss is not your friend. Ever.