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Unpaid Wages and Collection

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Facekhan

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Maryland

Long story skip to the bottom if you don't need the background.

I worked for a company part time at an hourly rate. Then a few months later at the end of April I was put on full time at a salary with 2 weeks paid vacation and benefits. It was a small company with no employee manual or written policies. When I was first hired I informed them that I was going to be on vacation the last week of May, and I reiterated this when I was brought on full-time. Their original salary offer was insufficient but they convinced me to take it for the first month since I would be gone for a week anyways. In June I was supposed to start getting a renogiated salary. At the end of May I recieved a full paycheck presumably for the vacation time as well. In early June we agreed on a final salary retroactive to the first of June. They kept stalling on it and after my June paycheck showed no increase I was told my raise had been cut in half and was delayed till August. This was all verbal unfortunately so I don't have any illusions about proving it and getting the raise money. I quit about 2 weeks later when there was no longer any doubt that they were just trying to string me along on the their original offer and not negotiating in good faith. I worked the first 1/3 of the work days in July. I was never paid.

When they were 2 weeks late I got a letter from them demanding I sign a release and confidentiality agreement for which I would be given $150 which they claim is all they owe me since they "overpaid" me in May. They claim to have a policy of not paying vacation time for employees before the 1st year. No such policy existed, I know because I sat next to the guy who was writing the manual and it was never completed. In addition I know other employees were paid for vacation time despite that "policy".

I kept after them and sent them a certified letter demanding full payment and then I prepared to file suit. I called them and said that I was going to the court house and this was their final opportunity to pay. I was called back and threatened by the CEO with a nuisance countersuit based on a slanderous claim. I hung up and filed just for the July money at my original salary since I could prove it easily.

They were served. And unless I get a notice soon I am about to conclude they are not filing to defend. With my pay stubs and my resignation letter and their back and forth with me in one case openly admitting the dates of my employment and the money they owe I imagine I will probably get a judgment.

Assuming I get a judgement what information do I need to collect the money? I know what bank they use. I can get their EIN. Is that enough? Also does this judgement show up automatically on their corporate credit report or do I need to inform the agencies.

I openly admit it, I hate these people and worse yet I found out they did this to someone else before. I think I am going to start lobbying my state legislature for a theft of labor act with jail time.
 


JETX

Senior Member
Facekhan said:
Then a few months later at the end of April I was put on full time at a salary with 2 weeks paid vacation and benefits. It was a small company with no employee manual or written policies. When I was first hired I informed them that I was going to be on vacation the last week of May, and I reiterated this when I was brought on full-time. Their original salary offer was insufficient but they convinced me to take it for the first month since I would be gone for a week anyways. In June I was supposed to start getting a renogiated salary. At the end of May I recieved a full paycheck presumably for the vacation time as well.
Why would you think that?? According to your own post, you had only worked there for about four weeks ("end of April" to "vacation the last week of May"). How much 'vacation pay' do you think you had earned in that four weeks??? If your statement of two weeks pay (AFTER A YEAR!!) is correct, that accrues vacation 'pay' at about 0.9616 days per month of full time worked.
You were due less than ONE DAYS PAY!!! How much overpay was in that check???

I openly admit it, I hate these people and worse yet I found out they did this to someone else before. I think I am going to start lobbying my state legislature for a theft of labor act with jail time.
And while you are doing so, remember to 'lobby' for a theft from employer act or a 'failure to understand the facts' law.
Based on your own post, I don't see where you have any claim against the employer..... and hopefully they will agree and file a countersuit for the 'unearned wages' that were paid to you.
Do you really think that you are correct in assuming you work for a company for one month, then take vacation and should be paid for it???
 

Facekhan

Junior Member
They knew that they had paid me for my vacation. They simply decided to change their minds to get back at me after I quit. Whether I had reason to expect vacation pay should not matter. I don't see how they can argue a mistake was made 75 days later.

The payroll person and the CEO worked about 5 feet from me. Either way I never once told them what I thought they owed me until after they were 2 weeks late and sent me a letter saying they would not pay me without the included release agreement and a confidentiality contract.

They never filed to defend and it went on an uncontested docket. Then they showed up in court to file to defend in order to delay it so they could send me more letters threatening to accuse me of a theft of documents which is the same lie they told about another employee. Now its delayed. I really don't care about the money and I even offered to split the difference with them.

They refused that and told me they would mail me the check for $160 which they admit owing me all along if I dropped my suit first. Based on their prior behavior I am not going to drop the suit and then hope they honor their end of the agreement. I also told them that I considered their threat to accuse me of theft to be an attempt to extort the release contract from me by threat of slander. After that their lawyer was very polite to me. I wonder if I hit on something there.

I am tempted to save myself the time and take the money which I don't really care about because in my experience the CEO is an egomaniac who would probably rather die than pay me even if I do win in court next month. Given the almost certain fact I would have to fight tooth and nail to collect and that I have already gained considerable personal satisfaction from standing up to this *******, which no one has ever done before, I may just take their offer and stop wasting my time worrying about this crazy company which is just gonna be bankrupt soon as it has no revenue and was probably just setup to defraud VC's and get the CEO a fat paycheck for a couple years for doing nothing.
 
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