we have a problem....

[princess]

Any help would be apprieciated....

Jacob, our son in law, got his contractor's license last month....

He told his boss.

Last month the boss said he would work him as a subcontractor 3 days per week so he can keep his medical benefits & the hourly pay would go up a little bit. He 10-99'd him.

Then 2 weeks later, after NOT giving him any days off, he told him he's not paying any medical. And didn't give any pay raise.

This week after years of this same kind of "abuse" & since things are finally in motion to branch out on his own, he quit.

The boss is refusing to give him the $1700 he owes him for work completed.

There happens to be a personal loan for that has a balance of $1700 with his boss. So now the boss has decided Jacob owes him that $1700 NOW (instead of the agreed working it off on Saturdays) plus $700 for Nov. benefits, plus $1100 from a job over a year ago that he's now claiming Jacob stole from him.

Anyone know where we'd contact to resolve this?

The things I see wrong here are:
1. Companies have 72 hours to give you your final paycheck. It's been that.

2. A personal loan is a separate issue from the paycheck. He has no problem continuing the Sat. work.

3. You can't make an employee pay for benefits after the fact.... If your boss pays out your insurance on the 1st & you quit the 2nd....they can't ask you for it.

4. He wasn't self-employed at the time he's being accused of stealing a job. But since he is now, we don't know the fine lines here.

He's now claiming that he's going to tell whoever that he was paid under the table.... yet Jacob has always filed his taxes, so I have no idea how he'd prove something like that & wouldn't the boss get in bigger trouble??? Jacob says he WAS given checks made out to cash for parts purchases, so the assumption is that's what would be used.

I want to help them, but I' not sure where to tell them to call. I said the labor board....but they haven't been able to get through for 2 days. Should they retain an attorney, if so, what kind?
:confused:

Anyone have a clue?????


HELP!!!:boohoo:

[anysia]

i would definitely talk to an attorney.

i'm not a legal genuis by any means, but this guy sounds really fishy. it sounds like he is trying to scare him into thinking he can actually insist on these things. if jacob brings up that he is talking to an attorney, the guy may very well back down on atleast a large portion of the issues. especially things like payig under the table. the guy knows full well that he would be in a heck of alot more trouble than the person who accpeted payment under the table! or esle he's a complete ignorant idiot! :sorry:

it really sounds like this guy feels threatened by jacob starting up his own business..... and he's trying to scare him into thinking that there si no way he can actually afford his own business.

[princess]

The odd part is that he's (the boss) is pretty much quitting the electrical business & going into a general handyman type of thing! That's why Jacob felt comfortable telling him his own plans. They won't be in competition!

He's really mad at Jacob for feeling like he CAN quit. This guy loves to be in control. He said he's willing to pay the fines for a late final paycheck.... he just wants to prove he's the top dog.

Pretty much all the employees know where his drug stashes are....I wish a few would report that..... He's done a few too many & seems really paranoid!

He spends everything that comes in on rebuilding his wife, drugs & toys (boats, cars, etc.) He's always broke. On adverage he brings in about 15K per day. Now there's about 6 people working for him, so figure half that goes on paychecks/benefits....

The latest FAX is he's now willing to give Jacob about $800. This morning he'd agreed to the full anount, until Jacob showed up to collect it. Then it went to "you owe me"

I think he figures if he keeps Jacob busy with this he won't get any work done...it's not working! He's been getting calls & has been doing fine so far! He worked all day Tuesday, most of yesterday & most of today. For a first week in business, he's doing great! He's not even in the phone book until a few more weeks....this is all word of mouth!

I bet Jacob will agree to less to get it overwith....another thing he has in common with my prince!
:o

[anysia]

i hope his business continues to go so well!!! it must be exciting! :)

hopeully his old jerk of a boss doesn't try to consume too much of his time. help keep jacob focused on his new business! it's wrong of this guy to try to get away with all of this and jacob should fight it, but at the same time make sure it doesn't eat away at him too much... it will be hard, but i'm sure he'll come out stronger when all is said and done! he already seems to have a great head on his shoulders! :)

[princess]

We think he does! This looks like it has the potential of being something nicely successful!

He's just a peacemaker type person. Not passive, but will walk away from some things... They do need the funds right now...he's gotta has parts money to do the jobs he's got! Later, he'll probably have an open end account, but it's all too new.

He's been in such a good mood this week! He's teasing me so much I've been ready to smack 'im!:D

Somehow this will all work out. Not getting a paycheck put them in the hole. He talked to the bank & they're cooperating. There's automatic things that come out & not enough was in for them...the bank waived the fees....that was about $200!!

It's tempting to just save them...but that's not the right thing to do. They will feel better doing it on their own! I really hate this part of parenting sometimes! BUT I do believe it's important.

So I get my daughter calling & crying, I sound as supportive as I can without "fixing" it for her. Then at the same time give him a chance to show he's a "man" & can take care of his family!

The ol' rock & hard place thing!

If they can do this without legal fees it woukd be worth settling for less, even if it's not right!

I wanna win the lotto!

I want to make some dreams come true!:)

[Greg]

I would hire a lawyer. I would think you should be able to sue for the $1700. The personal loan sounds like a separate issue, but if you sue, expect a counter suit for that. It sounds like your son in law will almost certainly get his paycheck as long as the hours he worked are documented.

I wouldn't cave for anything as far as the benefits go. It sounds like your son-in-law has been working for this guy for years, so there are that however-many year precedent for his employer paying his medical insurance. Even if his employer argued that your son in law was on his own (i.e., the 10-99 would lend itself to this arguement), it still has never come out of his paycheck before this, despite him being paid 10-99 for an extended period of time. The judge will work it out.

Finally, your SIL should cease all communication with his employer immediately, and document any communication since this happened. If he has to talk to the employer - stick with the facts - 1)he is owed $1700 and 2) does not need to repay for medical. Work through the lawyer or in small claims court. It sounds like your SIL's employer is pissed off for losing a good employee who was lining his pockets. The employer will probably end up getting in a lot of trouble it sounds like.

If you feel like taking this on yourself, go to small claims court, but be prepared to prove your case. It seems like any good judge should be able to work through the BS the employer is laying down pretty quickly.

One of my bro's buddies went on judge joe brown in LA and got paid like $1100 for his appearance.

[princess]

I'm thinking if he can just get it overwith, he will.... so he can get on with his life...

He feels a certain loyality to this guy because no matter the abuse, he did hire him fresh out of school & gave him a chance. Same thing abused domestic partners & kids go through, I guess!

I don't know if they even have a system of logging hours! I do know Jacob wasn't paid overtime. His boss decided on a whim that he was on salary more than 2 years ago. So the guys under him got a bigger check than he did! He begged for hourly & got it, but suffered for it....then he wasn't allowed days off at all. 2 years ago there was an argument about working on Xmas! Jacob isn't the only one he treats this way! He treats them all the same. He's just the only one that stayed. The underlings all want to work for Jacob, but he can't hire yet....he'll need the business to be more consistant first.

There is one guy that goes to school & only wants to work part time & I think that's his helper now. His brother has been working with him a while too, so the bigger jobs can have both.

I think once this struggle is behind them, it'll be fine.

I think I'd probably settle for less to end it too.....well, after a little fight!:D

The funny thing is that nearly all the communication has been by FAX, so it's in writing!;)

Next project is a new cell phone for him....he's using her's 'cuz the 2 year nuked his in the microwave!!:eek: I laughed for a long time when I was told!:lmao:

[anysia]

maybe it is sometimes best to cut your losses and move on. i've been trying to remind myself of that in my situation(s) as well!

[princess]

That's kinda what I'm thinking here..... but it's not my choice.

I'm just gathering info for them, if they want it.:)

[Pairallel]

My company had a California-based salesman a few years ago who just stopped working. It took us about 3 months to prove he was ripping us off, but once we did, we withheld his last 2 paychecks. Within a week, we received threatening notices from the Labor Board, and we called our attorney to determine our rights. He informed us that CA was far and away the most liberal, employee-friendly state in the country, and that employees prevail in 90% of all disputes.

Your SIL will win hands down, without a lawyer, if he just follows through with the Labor Board.

On the new business/cash flow issue, has he considered offering discounts for prepayments or for large deposits on his jobs? Word-of-mouth customers should understand the cash flow issues of a new business, and be willing to trust him to do the work in exchange for a 5% or 10% discount. Just an idea...

He needs to be a businessman as well as a contractor. I have a friend who is a licensed plumber and electrician, and does great work. He is such a lousy businessman that he never makes any money. He is constantly "forgiving" amounts due, or allowing extended payments, or performing additional work at no charge.

Hope your SIL does not fall into this trap. Good customer relations does not mean free work. It means good work at a fair price, paid promptly.


:beatnik: (?)

[princess]

I haven't talked to either of them today, yet...so I don't know thr latest....

My daughter is more business minded than he is, but I think he`already has had to do some "collecting", So that part should be OK. Time will tell...

I don't think drposits can be over a certain percentage....he'll be using the same parts companies are before, so once he's established a bit, I don't think it'll be a problem. They know him, they just have learn to trust his business!

I'll keep you updated when I talk to them about what's going on later.....

He's not stealing from the boss, he did all this carefully.....actually refusing work, to not be accused of it. So far there's been virtually no ads. He has flyers, but not many have gone out yet....

[princess]

Problem solved. This boss ended up paying him in full. They worked out a plan for the loan. He still isn't covering the medical, but we expected that.

We have moved them in here for 6 months! They put nearly everything in storage. Boy, they got a lot of stuff!!

So far, no one has threatened to kill each other. All's well!:)