In the USA at least we are literally raised to believe this. Parents, school, and then employers, the media and government. Even the most outlandish of things will be uncritically accepted by otherwise generally competent people in these circumstances. Everyone is susceptible to propaganda, even the propagandists.

Welcome to the West, where Chinese astronauts in space is a crime against humanity but we were TOTALLY justified in nuking Japan, apparently.

Possibly but I think most of them are federal, which is why I didn’t include anything about breaks as there’s no federal law guaranteeing them afaik.

Again, not a lawyer and my post is limited to my experience in the PNW.

If you file a wage complaint and get fired you can sue them. Theoretically. I know there’s a lot of issues here with lawyers but it’s worth looking into. Oftentimes a valid complaint turns into you becoming untouchable so long as you don’t do anything awful.

If they promised you certain wages, they have to pay them.

If you work past 40 hours per week, every hour past the 40 hour mark is paid at 1.5x your base pay.

Overtime and holiday pay don’t stack.

The 40 hour mark starts at the end of the week. If you work M-F 9-5 and work 9-7 on Monday it would mean you’d be working overtime Friday, not Monday.

Just because they cut hours on week 2 of a pay period doesn’t mean they don’t owe OT pay for week 1. Each week is distinct and separate.

I am not a lawyer this is just my experience and understanding working in the USA.