Worker wonders if store should foot the bill for black pants, socks and shoes it requires employees to wear 

DEAR CARRIE: I am an hourly worker for a large stationery store. We are required to wear a uniform. The shirts are given to us, but we are required to wear black pants, black socks and black shoes. We receive no allowance to purchase these items. Is my employer required to pay for them?  I also have a wage question: When I was hired, the minimum wage was $10 an hour. I was told by the manager who hired me that my experience entitled me to $11.25 per hour and that is what I started at. When the minimum wage went up to $11 an hour, I expected my salary to go up by $1 also to $12.25, to again, reflect my experience. But it went up just 60 cents more to $11.85 per hour.  When I questioned the manager, I was told that corporate sets that amount and wasn't required to pay the full dollar. Please advise if my manager is correct. -Uniformly Perplexed

DEAR UNIFORMLY: "Ordinary clothing (such as black trousers and white shirts) is generally not a uniform," says the state Labor Department's website. So your company can require you to pay for such items, which can double as streetwear.

I imagine that the shirts were given to you and your co-workers because the clothing bears the company logo and qualifies as a company uniform.

As to your pay rate question, the store is required to pay you only minimum wage because you are an hourly worker. If it promised to pay you a higher rate, it has to honor that. But if it didn't, it can decide how much above minimum wage to offer you. 

DEAR CARRIE: I was recently laid off. I checked my 401(k) account and found that my former employer had not deposited my contributions for months. I have had ongoing conversations with the human resources department to try to get these contributions deposited.

The company did deposit some,  but I am still  four deposits short, several months after the money was deducted from my pay.  Also, the company has continued to withdraw 401(k) contributions from my severance payments, and hasn't deposited these on time, either. In addition to speaking with HR,  I contacted my former company’s legal department for help, but the person there hasn’t been able to solve the problem. What agency can I  contact to resolve this matter? Also, am I due lost interest for the delay in making these deposits? My contribution is $450 a week, so in addition to buying at a higher cost because of a record-high stock market, I have lost gains because of the delay.  Where can I turn for help? -Untimely Deposits 

DEAR UNTIMELY: Companies are required to deposit those deductions in a timely manner. Here is what the website of the federal Employee Benefits Security Administration, which oversees pensions, says: 

"If you contribute to your retirement plan through deductions from your paycheck, then the employer must follow certain rules to make sure that it deposits the contributions in a timely manner. The law says that the employer must deposit participant contributions as soon as it is reasonably possible to separate them from the company's assets, but no later than the 15th business day of the month following the payday. For small plans (those with fewer than 100 participants), salary reduction contributions deposited with the plan no later than the seventh business day following withholding by the employer will be considered contributed in compliance with the law."

For more information on this question and others contact EBSA at 866-444-3272.