# I just want my fucking paycheck! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 18, 2013, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251 "2013-06-18T04:58:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/21 "2013-06-19T03:14:55Z")
Heh - my term for it is “disposable employees.” 😃 It suits me because my husband has a good job and I tend to do the lion’s share of the house and home stuff so variable employment is fine for now, but I’d probably be looking for a real job if I was supporting myself alone. I just finished up an assignment at the end of March that ended on a very sour note - it was supposed to be a one week assignment that turned into three months, then when I said I wanted it to end at the end of March because it wasn’t working out for me, my agent got all huffy and puffy and called me un-professional and threatened me and bullied me over it. I know damned well that if I wasn’t working out, the company would clip me with zero notice - they just didn’t think it was a two-way street (or they didn’t realize that _I_ knew that). Sorry, talking about temping has set me off a bit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/22 "2013-06-19T05:31:19Z")
I once was an Admin Asst. for a guy who owned a bunch of pizza franchises. Payroll was one of his priorities. He knew that if his people didn’t get paid on time, they would leave. Because he had franchises all over 2 states, he would sign all the checks and then give them to me to take to UPS. One fateful day, UPS lost all of the checks and we didn’t know about it until the next day. My boss was so frantic and upset about people getting their money late that he had me call every store and tell the managers that we would be delivering new checks as soon as possible. I put 700 miles on my bike that day, and the boss and his wife also broke several speed limits. People work for the money, they don’t work for fun. Most people working temp or service jobs don’t have the luxury of waiting an extra day to get their money, they honestly needed it yesterday. I said all that to say that I sure understand the OP’s outrage. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/23 "2013-06-19T14:10:07Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I already burned my bridges with this agency when I had to deal with their screw-up of my direct deposit while taking my aunt. Wait, they screwed up your direct deposit _ **while kidnapping your aunt** _? I hope you contacted the police as well as the Labor Department. More seriously, to those criticizing him for snarkiness on phone calls: it really sounds like he’s being jerked around. Sure, in an ideal world he’ll express endless patience and remember that he’s only talking to other victims, but more practically I think this was the right thing to do. Threatening the Labor Board and then following through is the only recourse there is, really. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/24 "2013-06-25T22:28:38Z")
Eight days, and still no pay. Or any communication since they claimed to have mailed the checks out last week. I’m on the verge of contacting the client I worked for and asking them if; a) they actually paid the temp agency for my services, & b) if so letting them know that agency isn’t paying it’s workers. Yes, I realize how bad an idea that is and that it’s unlikely to accomplish anything (except maybe getting a higher up at the agency to actually return my messages). I couldn’t help but laugh when I read this article. 😉 PS; does anyone know what the actual law is re employers reimbursing (former)employees for things like late fees and bank fees when they don’t pay on time? I’m in PA & so was the client, but the agency is based out of state. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/25 "2013-06-25T22:52:31Z")
Linky no worky That said - contact the Board of Labor in both relevant states. Laws will vary by jurisdiction, and it will probably be that of the state where the work was actually done, but this is the point where you need some solid legal advice. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/26 "2013-06-25T22:53:24Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I recently watched a documentary about the changeover day on cruise ships…the day when they off-load one group of passengers and board another group. > > On every cruise, there are some people that forget their passports or show up with problematic documentation… newly married women with name changes and children without the proper parental permissions being the most common. > > And some times the problems aren’t resolved and the passengers are left at port watching the ship sail away without them. > > The manager that has to handle these problems said something to the effect of – " It’s especially difficult when the people are nice about it, then it makes me feel REALLY bad to have to leave them behind." > > So rant all you want, but it may have the opposite effect then the one you intended. Huh-wuh? 😕:eek: Look, this is totally the opposite. Legally, the Cruise Ship could NOT take those passengers. Legally, in the OP’s case, the company is dead fucking wrong in not paying _what they owe._ So your little anecdote is worthless in this case. After EIGHT freaken days the Op has every right to rant. OP, what did the State labor Board say? Fuck it, Go ahead and contact the client, sicne that what they DON’T want you to do. Why not? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/27 "2013-06-25T23:03:15Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I am self employed. If I had some computer/bookkeeping problem delay a payday, I would withdraw enough cash to pay everyone about what they should get. > > When I worked for someone else, the only reason I did my job was to get paid. A delay of any sort and I woulda gone ballistic. Right. The computer may be dead, but it’s unlikely they are also out of paper checks, their pens are out of ink, the treasurer has writers cramp, and their bank is out of cash. Pay does NOT have to go thru a computer. You can hand-calculate payroll even with payroll taxes and write a freaken check. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/28 "2013-06-25T23:30:23Z")
Hell, you can even pay payroll in cash if you use the proper record-keeping and documentation techniques. ---
**Author:** ![Psychopants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Psychopants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psychopants)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/29 "2013-06-25T23:41:17Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Eight days, and still no pay. Or any communication since they claimed to have mailed the checks out last week. I’m on the verge of contacting the client I worked for and asking them if; a) they actually paid the temp agency for my services, & b) if so letting them know that agency isn’t paying it’s workers. Yes, I realize how bad an idea that is and that it’s unlikely to accomplish anything (except maybe getting a higher up at the agency to actually return my messages). I couldn’t help but laugh when I read this article. 😉 > > PS; does anyone know what the actual law is re employers reimbursing (former)employees for things like late fees and bank fees when they don’t pay on time? I’m in PA & so was the client, but the agency is based out of state. Google is your friend. No, really. ---
**Author:** ![tralfamidor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@tralfamidor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tralfamidor)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/30 "2013-06-25T23:46:56Z")
This is one reason why I’ve been self-employed for decades. If I pay my rent, phone bill, insurance, etc. late, I get creamed with late fees that amount to about 2000% APR. I can tell them I have had technical difficulties or ingrown toenails or a problem with alien abductions and guess what, they still hit me with the late fees. So any “reason” these douchebags give for not coughing up the money they owe you is completely irrelevant. I’d love to see a law that mandates a, say, 5% surcharge that must be added for every day a paycheck is late. But then, the little guy rarely gets to fuck the big guy (back). ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/31 "2013-06-25T23:52:39Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > …OP, what did the State labor Board say? Fuck it, Go ahead and contact the client, sicne that what they DON’T want you to do. Why not? I did file a complaint with my local office of the Wage & Hour Division of the US Dept. of Labor, but it has to be forwarded to the office that covers where their corporate HQ is. And yes I was told to expect it to take _at least_ 30 days. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Hell, you can even pay payroll in cash if you use the proper record-keeping and documentation techniques. Which is exactly what happened the only other time I’ve had a paycheck delayed. And [here’s](http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-workers-holding-us-boss-082227927.html) the link I was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/32 "2013-06-26T03:49:59Z")
It sounds to me like the temp agency is out of cash. Payroll is, or at least should be, the #1 priority for any business. You can pay the utilities late; you can pay your suppliers late; but you pay your employees _ **on time** _. Payroll being eight days late generally means only one thing: they don’t have the money to pay out. If you’ve already burned your bridges with this agency (and if you haven’t it’s about time to start), complain to the client. It won’t get you your money, but it will let them know what kind of agency they’re contracting with. And given that the agency has explicitly asked you _not_ to contact them suggests that they are trying to hide something from their client… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/33 "2013-06-26T05:15:32Z")
The client will want to know. In most cases, they may be _liable for your wages_. In the commonwealth, the worker could slap a contractors lein on the client, which is as wanted as a flaming case of herpes—the sheriff could come a knocking. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/34 "2013-06-26T05:23:16Z")
Yup, it’s probably time to contact the client. My spidey sense tells me that your agency did indeed invoice the client for your (and other workers’) time and then turned around and _didn’t_ pay you and others - the client would definitely want to know that the money they sent for the people who worked for them didn’t get to the workers. My response as a client would be to immediately terminate relations with that agency as the big fat scammers/fraudsters they are. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/35 "2013-06-26T13:57:51Z")
Wait, have you _still_ not been paid? I would be careful about contacting the client, although it couldn’t hurt to tell the agency you’re going to if you don’t get paid. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/36 "2013-06-26T18:07:25Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > It sounds to me like the temp agency is out of cash. Payroll is, or at least should be, the #1 priority for any business. You can pay the utilities late; you can pay your suppliers late; but you pay your employees _ **on time** _. Payroll being eight days late generally means only one thing: they don’t have the money to pay out. > > If you’ve already burned your bridges with this agency (and if you haven’t it’s about time to start), complain to the client. It won’t get you your money, but it will let them know what kind of agency they’re contracting with. And given that the agency has explicitly asked you _not_ to contact them suggests that they are trying to hide something from their client… I’ve known people who worked for the wonderful :mad: state of Illinois who got IOUs instead of paychecks, but at least they were upfront that they didn’t have the money right then to pay them. In 2011, I worked for a startup through a temp agency, and I did get paid because I was paid through the agency, but I realized almost immediately that I did not want to sign on as a regular employee, the main reason being that the regular employees were having a LOT of trouble getting paid. They were supposed to be paid weekly, and we had a technician who had worked there a month and had yet to see a penny. He just didn’t show up one morning. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/37 "2013-06-26T18:34:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I would be careful about contacting the client, although it couldn’t hurt to tell the agency you’re going to if you don’t get paid. Any time I’ve signed an agreement with a temp agency, it is very clear that you are to never ever contact the client directly for any reason. Be careful that if you do contact the client, doing so won’t give the agency a legitimate legal reason to withhold earnings from you (I’m sure it wouldn’t, but just be sure). ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/38 "2013-06-26T19:09:44Z")
If you do get a check from the agency make sure it clears before you spend the money. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/39 "2013-06-26T23:26:06Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Any time I’ve signed an agreement with a temp agency, it is very clear that you are to never ever contact the client directly Until you/they burn that last bridge. Then you go apeshitcrazy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251/40 "2013-06-26T23:29:55Z")
Seriously **OP** , if you aren’t out front of their place of business with homeless people you’ve hired to carry poster board signs that you’ve created, . . .why not? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-my-fucking-paycheck/661251.md?page=3)