I really hate when people talk about legal issues they know nothing about.
First of all, the first thing one should to do in a situation like this is call the state’s labor department. Most likely you have an issue not of employment contract, but failure to pay wages and/or commission at termination. Most state’s labor departments will handle many of these complaints against employers, depending on the circumstances and state law.
Most state law provides that if you sue on a wage claim, you can receive attorney’s fees and possibly double or triple damages. However, this could be a long and complex process, and you may do better through the state labor department.
(I am a lawyer, but not yours. This is not advice but a general discussion of the law. For specific advice, contact a lawyer in your jurisdicition.)
I’d just like to say thank you to all of the SDMB ppl who took the time to give me some advice.
The popular concensus is to talk to a lawyer, and that is what I intend to do.
My jerk boss was also sexually harassing me (looking down my shirt, telling me I should come home with him and his girlfriend…) but i cant prove it. I told my friends and family, that would only be heresay in court, right?
Yea, I have only an oral contract for the commissions, but I’m sure a good lawyer could help. I also am contacting the labor board as well as the better buisness bureau.
Billdo is right. You may have what they call a wage and hour claim for unpaid wages. You can call your labor department, and they might help you. In my experience labor departments are pretty usesless when it comes to enforcement. They may make a few phone calls, but employers know that they are toothless tigers, and will stand pat. By all means, call. But still, call a lawyer.
Here, BTW, is New York’s payment of wages law:
And the definition of “Earned commission”:
Notice that it takes us full circle. You have to look at your contract.
There’s other good stuff in the statute, so here is a link
Oh Pit. If sexual harrassment is involved, write a detailed letter to the company’s HR department RIGHT NOW! Give them as much specific information as you can remember – what the boss did, when he did it, who was around, who you told. You’re not looking to supply proof, you’re trying to provide enough information that HR has grounds to investigate the boss.
Send that letter out first thing tomorrow morning. And keep a copy to show to your lawyer!
Section 215 prescribes that no employer shall penalize any employee for making a complaint to the employer, to the Commissioner of Labor, or to the Commissioner’s representative, about any provision of the Labor Law. Violation of § 215, can bring a civil fine and separate civil action by the employee. To obtain the text of these statutes, go to:
And hereare links to the forms that you need to complete in order to file a wage and hour claim for commissions. When you are done, you take them here.
Not. Contact the EEOC and the New York State Division of Human Rights. It is also very important to follow any internal company procedures for complaining about sexual harrassment. You should contact the HR department of the company right away, and formally complain.
Seriously, speaking as a layman, it sounds like there’re some potentially juicy elements that might add up to a real case.
To the real lawyers here, wouldn’t it be fairly easy to set up a strategy? Subpeona Josh, the boss, and other potential witnesses and have at it. I can see it now.
*So, Mr. Josh, you are interested in handling Karaoke equipment, I understand…
On a practical note, is your ex-boss the owner of the mortgage company or is he merely the manager of one branch of a larger company. If he’s only a little wheel in a big corporate machine, I’m guessing that a couple of letters from an attorney outlining the situation to the mortgage company’s corporate counsel will at the very least get you a quick & fair settlement of your outstanding wage claims as well as an investigation – and subsequent caning of your ex-boss – should your claims pan out.
If what you say is true, your ex-boss is a lawsuit waiting to happen. The company will probably be happy if you call this loose cannon to their attention, though I doubt they’d admit that to you!
Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it in court, necessarily. The definition of hearsay is “an out-of-court statement, offered to prove the truth of the matter stated.” However, probably 2/3 of the evidence section on my bar exam, and I expect most others, was on the hearsay exceptions - the conditions under which hearsay in admissible in court.
I agree with everyone else that you need a lawyer. You also need to stop posting to this thread until you do. Published statements to others in a public forum can inadvertently nuke a lawsuit.
Does anyone else have any sneaking suspicions that the story we’ve been told is a crock? My bullshit meter is beeping big time.
“HE WORKS FOR FREE! I TELLS YA, HE WORKS FOR FREE!”
What does that mean? You mean to try to tell me that this other guy is just literally working for nothing? I’ve often found “He works for free!” is another way of saying, “He puts in extra effort, sucks up, wants to get ahead, and I don’t want to do that!”
My apologies if the story is true, but the sexual harassment bit just looks like tacked on bullshit, once you got even a lukewarm response on your original bit. Nothing about this feels right or accurate.
I think it’s the sucking up that bothers people, and when it’s percieved that sucking up was the major factor in a promotion and not so much who did the better job. It bugs people.
Sure, if it really is. That was the poorly written part of my original point. Put another way, and within the theme of my original letter, how often is one (often lazy or disgruntled) man’s “sucking up” another man’s “positive work attitude?”
Again, just saying that something seemed off-center when I read the original post; I wasn’t there, but it’s been my experience that no one just works for free for kicks and giggles.
It does depend on the case. It’s human nature to just assume it could’nt be one’s own fault. I’ve had to fight this tendencey in myself sometimes. I think someone who assumed it was their own fault by default would be suffering from self esteam issues. However I think anyone can also see why an employer would want to make it so the butt kissing ( like the karoeke stuff) was required for employment and advancement, however wrong that would be.
I’m not sure what the ratios is however. Normally someone I know gets fired, layed off, or passed over, we have a “man your (ex)boss sucks/what a bunch of butt suckers” session. Thats alot more enjoyable then grilling them for the facts. My personal experance is kind of limited. When I am at work I try to avoid politics and do a good job. Doesn’t seem to wor out too good though.
Well I tried to talk to the HR person but they said they would call me back and never did. Then my boss called me back and told me my check is in the mail, dont set foot on the premises, and that he has witnesses that i was making a resume on their computer. He said he made it on paperwork that I never worked there, and thats why he paid me by personal check. I have no idea what the resume thing is all about. No lawyer will help me. I guess I am out of luck.
Be sure you report the income on next year’s tax return. You might also want to photocopy that check a few times and, once it’s completely through your bank and there’s no way he can stop it or get the monry back, notify the IRS and the state Department of Revenue that this guy is falsifying payroll information. I somehow doubt that he properly withheld payroll taxes on his personal check.
I’m afraid mine is beeping too. In addition to your points about Josh working for free, when he’s likely out performing others, there’s the $10k commission thing. If someone is really doing so good that you’re owed $10k in commissions, then you can bet they boss is getting a commission of his own on that work. And no boss but an idiot boss would fire someone who was so successful. The boss would much rather have someone who gets him commission checks then someone who carries his DJ equipment.
Here’s what I think happened:
You were not producing, and were asked to work longer hours so you would be. You felt this was “working for free” (it’s not, btw, as you’re paid on commission), and refused. In the process, you complained about a co-worker who was producing, and in the same breath told the boss that he was unfair. You were fired. When all was said and done, you hadn’t actually closed anything, so you are owed zero in commissions.
As we speak, I’m in the process of firing a whiner who doesn’t produce and complains about others that do. I’m sorry, but at this moment, I have zero patience for that sort of attitude.
So Bill H. and SlyFrog wander in and, on the basis of nothing but their own self-importance, declare the OP to be lying.
I was under the impression that this forum required questions with factual answers, and that it required those questions to be answered factually. To me, this means that questions in this forum need to be taken at face value. So, in attempting to answer the OP’s question, one should ask: Assuming we have been given the whole story, what options are open to Skytiger?
If this was a Pit thread, i could understand some skepticism. But in GQ, i think people have a right to assume that their questions will be taken on good faith, and that Dopers will provide good faith answers, as the more responsible posters in this thread have done.
My attempt at a factual answer: you should consult a lawyer.
