Back in October of 1999, I applied for a job at a local gas station. I was hired on November 3, 1999. Fast forward to February 8, 2000. Here’s me, working the night shift at said gas station. All’s going well, business is slow. So I’m talking on the phone to one of my online friends. At about 9:20pm that night, I hung up the phone and went outside to close the car wash. Then I went back into the store to do my nightly clean up duties as the store closes at 10pm. At 9:30pm a masked man rushes into the store and proceeds to rob me at knife point. No one gets hurt, the man leaves, cops come, my boss comes, my parents are called, they come as I was in no condition to drive myself home, and in shock, I quit my job. The next day I went to the store to tell my boss I’d like to work there but please schedule me days only. Agreed. Fast foward to February 14, 2000. My boss asked me if I would work nights, provided someone was there with me. I said no. Then I remembered my mom saying something about wanting a part time job to go with the full time job she already had, just for a change of pace. So, my mom was hired and started that night with me. All went well, but I was paranoid all night. Fast foward to February 17, 2000. Here’s my mom and me, working nights at the store. At about 9:15pm and friend of mine who, incidently, was at a house right across the street from the store, called to ask if I had closed the car wash yet as she wanted to wash her mom’s car. No, I hadn’t so we talked on the phone for about 15 minutes before hanging up so she could come to wash the car. Right after I hung up the phone (at about 9:30pm), a masked man came in a proceeded to rob my mother and me at knife point. The same man who had done so just 9 days ago. Again, no one was hurt. The man left and, just has he was doing so, my friend and her boyfriend pulled into the parking lot to wash the car. They saw him and the boyfriend chased him to his car, got the plate number, gave it to the cops, and the guy was arrested shortly after 2 o’clock the next morning. This time though, instead of quitting my job, I told my boss I would never, ever, work nights again. Ever. Agreed. Now fast forward to the beginning of May 2000. (This is getting long, I know, and I’m sorry) The guy that my boss had hired to replace me got fired. So, instead of hiring a new person, my boss asked me if I would works some nights, only if he needed me to. I said no. He then bribed me with a dollar an hour raise. That would put me at $7.00/h. Not too bad. I told him I’d think about it and get back to him the next day. I agreed to switch back to nights in exchange for the raise. He then corrected me, saying that I wasn’t switching to nights, I would only be working nights if he needed me to. Okay, even better. So that week’s schedule comes out. Sarah: Mon. 2-10pm/Tues. 5-10pm/Wed. off/Thurs. off/Fri. 2-10pm/Sat. 4-10pm/Sun. 9am-5pm. What? I only work ONE day? Oh, well. I worked with a smile and no problems at all. No masked men. Fast forward to the next payday, 2 weeks after I agreed to the raise. What? I’m still only making $6.00/h?? Maybe he made a mistake. I’ll just ask him about it. Nope, can’t he’s out of town. Okay, I’ll talk to him later. Next payday, 2 weeks later, still only making $6.00/h. This can’t be a mistake. So I ask him about it. What did he say? “I never offered you a raise.” What?? So, after much arguing with him, I quit. No two weeks notice, nothing. So, my question to you is, can I sue him? Not only for the original bribe, but also for not paying me? Is there anything I can do about this?? Thanks in advance and I’m sorry this was so long.
Very long winded. You could have said “My boss promised a $1.00/hour raise if I worked nights”. Everything before that is a horrible experience, but it’s not relevant.
No, you can’t press charges. Those are for criminal activities. This is a civil case: specifically, breach of contract, so you can sue him. He promised you something in exchange for something else. The problem is: how much are your damages. You quit voluntarily, so your damages may be limited to $1.00 for each hour that you did work after the promise was made. This would hardly make it worth your while. The court may award you more, but it’s a chance.
I’m not a lawyer, but I’d say no – you have nothing in writing, correct? I’m in personnel work, and nothing is certain until the paper work is done and signed. Your word against his. I suppose you could try, but why waste the time and money. Move on.
The fact that nothing was written down doesn’t change the fact that an agreement was reached – it just makes it harder to prove.
You can probably sue, in Small Claims Court… but as a previous poster said, your damages would likely be limited to $1 for every hour you worked between the time he agreed to the raise and the time you quit.
Is it worth it? Only you can decide this.
- Rick
You could conceivably sue him in small claims court for the amount that he supposedly promised you but did not deliver, but that would just be $1 an hour; certainly not worth it, and you probably wouldn’t even win since it’s his word against yours. And bribery, you should note, is not an actionable offense. In most cases, it’s perfectly legal. In any event, this wouldn’t even BE bribery. This is more like a renegotiation of a (verbal) contract. You work nights in exchange for a raise . . . allegedly.
Sue him? You can sue anyone but the chances of making a case that would be worth your while monetarily are slim to none.
On a more important note how much is your life worth? You should be soooo glad you are out of a scenario that asks you to risk your life for $ 7.00 an hour. You got lucky twice re the robber not going further. You should get down on your knees and thank God you are out of that situation and count yourself thrice blessed.
You are smart enough to use the net and write an understandable ('tho long winded and needing better spacing) essay on your situation. You should be able to get at least an $ 8.00 + an hour job in today’s job market doing safe, clerical (or other) monkey work somewhere.
Check out the job sites on the net.
Sorry, this is business, not personnel.
In hte business world, between an employer and an employee, “Word is bond”. I promise you a dollar an hour more, I owe it to you.
If I don’t pay, you go to the EDD(state employment office), and tell them what I did. They’ll most likely tell you to piss off over $60, but if they don’t, they’ll start an investigation into the matter, and you can now rightfully sue for the money not paid out, the lost money from the job, Etc. Throw in a little emotional trauma for the armed robberies, and you’ve got yourself a deal!
-Sam
The OP has been answered, and Silver_Fire has requested that I close the thread. So say goodbye, thread.
Goodbye, thread!