Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How would you handle this "wage owed" to you situation

With nothing in writing, I think one is screwed if he elects to exploit our legal system. Get everyone in a single room and try to hash it out. Deciding to burn bridges just depends on alternative opportunities in your region.

We have an old saying in pipeline . . . "I was looking for a job when I found this one!"

The number one way to piss off an employee is screw with their money.

Can't stand a man that lies.

Alaska is wide open for recording anyone.

In this economy with his company he should be as flush as it gets right now. There is absolutely no shortage of work.

That is fact!

According to these cost of hiring new employee figures it looks like it would probably be pretty much a wash financially for your present employer as to whether to pay you the back pay owed or let you simply quit and take a chance on hiring a new replacement that may or may not stay for long..

How to calculate cost to hire (and why it’s important)

The True Cost of Hiring an Employee in 2019

Consider these costs before hiring a new employee

YOU propose the solution to your boss:

"Starting with the paycheck on February 1st I would like a separate check for $200 enclosed, and I want that to continue for the next 20 paychecks"

Change the dates and the amounts to what you feel is reasonable. Don't be punitive, but aim to get your money in a reasonable amount of time.

How much time elapsed before you questioned them?

All well and good for average businesses... people to do what he does in the current market here are in very high demand and he has options. His employer will not find an easy replacement and would likely hire all the folks like him he can find. I think the boss is dealing from a position of weakness.

I'm not saying you should jump into this, but I once got in a situation where 6 weeks' wages were owed to me. I was in one of those sub-contractor-of-a-subcontractor situations. Everyone was paying everybody except the check wasn't getting to me.

I went to my father for advice. He said that I should announce that I was filing a worker's lien against the client. He who owns the hole, is ultimately responsible for paying for it being dug. The "hole being dug" in this case was a major PC/network/server refresh in one of the big downtown offices of Cincinnati Bell. The courthouse was on the other side of downtown. I contacted everyone and said I needed the check by 1PM or else I was going over to the courthouse and file the lien. I was told to patiently wait.

I had the check in my hand by 4PM.

I lasted another few months on that job. The general contractor hired me directly until the end of the project. The subcontractor filed for bankruptcy a few weeks after the incident.

In your case, I'm not suggesting that you go down this road immediately, but a worker's lien is a powerful tool when you need it.

Unfortunately this scenario is not uncommon in a small company where husband and wife are involved in what an employee's wages are. If the agreement with your boss was only verbal and you have nothing in writing, it looks like you're screwed. If you've discussed the situation with your boss three times it seems unlikely that things are going to change. Move on, leave on terms that don't burn your bridges, you never know when animosity may come back to haunt you.

I would have been asking questions at Paycheck #1! You didn't do yourself any favors here.

That is a problem.

Do you live in a state that allows for recording your own conversations without advising others? If so, then structure a conversation with them that gets them to admit they owe the money and record it.

This would sorta be my take as well.
If you can't let it go, take your chances with legal options and move onto another job.

Don't just hang out with a eternal ax to grind.

I was in the situation many years ago, worked for a guy that told me one thing, his wife was cutting payroll and she did another. It was a new relationship and I chose to let it roll for a few weeks just to test them and see what they would do.

I brought it up and the situation was corrected but I was never reimbursed for the retro period.
They failed the test, I may have let it go but I never forgot it.

We eventually became business partners and enjoyed many prosperous years.
Knowing what he would do if given the opportunity paid off well in the long run.

I never robbed him or did him wrong in anyway, but I never put him first in any given situation.

If you can look at it as information paid for and continue happily working for him do it.
If not, move on, life's too short to stress very much over 4K.

Forget legal nonsense. Go to your state labor department (or whatever it's called). If they think you have a case, they'll investigate for free. You will be immune from being fired over such whistle blowing, though your work situation will be awkward, and you will probably have to quit eventually.

If you don't have a case, apply elsewhere and get a job offer. At that time, approach your boss and seek satisfaction. If he won't, quit right then.

You've been had by a shyster.

Find another job, then stand there staring at the secretary and her husband till she gets the co checkbook out and pays you your due, a man doesn't need to associate with weak wish wash anyway, total waste of time in the long [career] run.

.........with your lawyer beside you...

My wife works for a Dr and that Dr's wife handles the business of his practice. There seems to be issues quite frequently when it comes to pay, benefits, or reimbursement. I warned my wife when she took the job that I've never had good luck in the employment situations where the husband has the wife running the books. I'm not sure why but I've seen a lot of issues with those types of arrangements. I don't know if it's just communication problems or what. Usually in that situation the husband is either beta or just not organized enough to manage his own business. So, he's either telling his wife one thing and his employees another to keep some perception of peace or he's just unorganized and doesn't take others issues serious. Either way the best way is often to communicate with the wife directly or to get them both together at the same time.

You can be direct without burning bridges if you stick to the facts and keep calm. No need to run to lawyers or make threats until you've told them both directly. After that you might step it up if they don't respond right because if they screw you over you don't want to work for them anyways.

I had a boss screw me out of $2 an hour at a job while I was in college. He finally started paying me what we agreed but never made up the back pay. I should have quit right them but I really needed work that summer. He continued to try to cheat me in other ways so I finally quit. He was my best friends dad and it ended up damaging my friendship. I should have wit the day it became obvious he was deliberately screwing me.

If you stay and try to get yours by milking it or any other way you risk making yourself look bad. Bosses that are always trying to cheat their workers end up with workers that try to get even. In the end the worker usually ends up looking bad. My biggest career mistakes were staying with unethical employers. They are poison to your soul. Your first thing would be to determine if it's just poor communication or organization or if they are deliberately trying to cheat you. If it's deliberate I would look for other work.

Bb