Am I legally entitled to a raise after working for one company for a year?

Question

I've been working for a company (in the State of Florida) for just over a year now and have not received a raise. In fact, when I asked about a raise, I was told I would not receive one. Is a law being broken here? I thought that I was legally entitled to a 3 or 4 percent (minimum) raise. Am I wrong? Should I call a lawyer?

If you know anything about the laws and/or can answer my question, please provide a reference for me and/or a link. Thanks.

Answer 1

There is no law saying you have to get a raise. Most companies give raises as rewards and incentives to stay for their prized employees, but not all companies can afford to do this - at least not for everybody.

Also, you need to evaluate your position in the marketplace. Are you getting paid at the top end already? For example, you won't find many people flipping hamburgers for $20/hour because the market for burgers caps the amount can be allotted for labor. If you are in a position that you know is worth more in the marketplace and your employer is not giving it to you, you may want to shop your services elsewhere. If you are getting near the top, or your performance has been less than exemplary, don't expect your employer to pony up any money.

Answer 2

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer....if you feel you have a legal dispute then check with a board-certified attorney in your state.

My answer:

You're not entitled to an automatic raise for completing X number of months/years with a company. If it's an existing company policy that everyone gets a raise after one year, then you might have something there, but it's not an entitlement backed by any legal statute (that I know of) that you must get a raise after working with the same company for a full year in your state.

Some exceptions to that might be:

*A written agreement provided to you by the company before, at time of, or after hire that you'd receive a raise upon completing X number of months/years with the company.

*You have an employment contract with this company that specifically stipulates a raise after one year

*There is an across-the-board raise being given to all employees in your company or a specific group of employees in your company (say, the I.T. group or the clerical pool) and you are a member of that group and you're being excluded from the raise without good cause.

For example, some companies may give employees a raise after X number of years with the company, but the raise is contingent upon documented, stellar performance reviews; if a particular employee's performance is lacking, then no raise.

As long as that was all spelled out beforehand and not arbitrarily instituted mid-stream for the express purpose of excluding one or more employees for invalid reasons, the employee has no recourse. The policy at time of hire was that employees must receive good performance reviews to get the yearly raise.

If you were told you would not be getting a raise because you were a woman/ethnic minority/too old or young/from Timbuktu, and people from Timbuktu don't get raises - then you would probably have a valid complaint. That would be discrimination based upon things like sex, age, race, national origin, and so forth.

However, if there is no company policy stating that employees who complete one year with the company automatically get a raise, then there's no entitlement to a raise. Check your company's human resources policy manual to see what the policies are on pay raises.

Answer 3

There is no such law in the US. Raises are purely up to the company, and that raise you are talking about is usually referred to as a cost of living raise. Most companies have recently begun to get rid of cost of living raises in favor of merit raises only, rather, raises for great performance. Have other people gotten raises? You should have a performance evaluation with your supervisor every year, though this is not a law either. If others have gotten a raise and you didn't, it could be that they didn't want to give you a performance raise. What excuse did they give you about not getting one? Perhaps your company, like many many others, is not in great financial shape and they have a raise freeze right now. Either way, you should talk to your supervisor so you are clear on the situation and whether or not they normally have raises and what can be done to get one. If your job has no room for advancement you might want to start looking.

Answer 4

It is up to your employer to decide if you should receive a raise or not depending on your work performance. What I would do is to work a little harder at my job and document all your achievements. That way you can go to your employer and show him all the hard work you have done and how you went beyond your job specifications to do a good job. He will be more likely to consider giving you a raise then.

Answer 5

Unless you have a contract stating you should receive a raise after a certain period of time, it is not legally required that you get a raise. Sorry

Answer 6

You are not legally entitled to a raise unless your employer evaluates your work and determines that the quality of your work means you should be rewarded with a raise.

Answer 7

it truly relies upon upon your CEO and corporation regulations. some agencies have a 5 day pd vacation after operating a million finished year. A pay improve from .10 cents to upto 2 money an hr depending upon your activity overall performance. as a lot as 4 pd ill leaves and pd vacation journeys as a lot as time in ahalf and to double time. All reckoning on how beneficiant your boss or CEO is.Maternaty go away is a ought to for ought to corporation's provided for the worker gazing for a baby in the experience that they are there for atleast 2 year.

Answer 8

No private company is legally obligated to give its employees a raise unless there is a contractural agreement spelling that out. Your next question should be why am I not getting a raise - is there something I am not doing correctly? Remember, if you are not happy where you are there are other employers out there.

Answer 9

Unless you have a contract stipulating that you are to receive annual cost-of-living increases and/or performance-based increases, you are not legally "entitled" to a raise--even though you may feel you deserve one.

Answer 10

they don't have to give you a raise. it would be nice. if they never stated a raise structure when you took the job it should not be assumed.