# unfair pay? what would you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451 "2012-08-04T20:06:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![foopyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3e96dc/32.png) [@foopyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foopyx)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/1 "2012-08-04T20:06:16Z")
I drive a company car to the work site everyday and shuttle several coworkers along with me. I pick them up and drop them off at a lot thirty minutes from said work site. The car is left there overnight and I hang onto the keys. Except my day off which someone else drives and holds the keys. I am compensated with an extra thirty mins of pay each day for my one nor’Easter worth of driving. Company pays for all auto expenses (gas, tolls, oil changes, etc.) Another person does the same exact thing, except two of his passengers just randomly happen to be outside contractors who work with us. They are allotted $20 per day each for travel expenses from their company. So along with his extra thirty mins pay he pockets an additional $1200 cash a month ($40 x 30 days). What would you guys do? I feel shortchanged. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/2 "2012-08-04T20:08:53Z")
Quit. And apply for a position as an independent contractor. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/3 "2012-08-04T20:37:29Z")
Moved from MPSIMS to our advice forum, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/4 "2012-08-04T20:42:18Z")
If you spend your life worried about “what the other guy is getting” and “fairness” you will find yourself pretty embittered over it all. Don’t worry, life isn’t fair and never will be. Just do the best you can in your own world. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/5 "2012-08-04T20:53:03Z")
> [@foopyx](#): > > So along with his extra thirty mins pay he pockets an additional $1200 cash a month ($40 x 30 days). > > What would you guys do? I feel shortchanged. Just feel lucky that you don’t have to work thirty days a month. That would really such, especially in February. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/6 "2012-08-04T20:54:52Z")
Well, for one thing, there aren’t thirty working days in a month, but only about twenty-something, but that’s minor. Second, why are the two outside contractors handing over their twenty-dollar per diem to your co-worker when the commute isn’t costing him anything (rather than just pocketing the money)? And why is their company giving them twenty bucks a day for travel expenses? That seems high, although perhaps it’s meant to compensate them for a rental car. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/7 "2012-08-04T21:19:05Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > If you spend your life worried about “what the other guy is getting” and “fairness” you will find yourself pretty embittered over it all. Don’t worry, life isn’t fair and never will be. Just do the best you can in your own world. I am fascinated by this rationalization. In my experience, the same people who rationalize an injustice with “Life isn’t fair” are, more often that not, the same cruel individuals that make life unfair for the rest of us. Frankly, I wish all of them would just commit _seppuku_ so the rest of us can treat each other with humanity without their interference. Life _is_ fair and it begins with how you treat people. As for the OP, you noted that the employee who gets paid more than you is also picking up outside contractors. Have you ruled out that his extra pay is due to this difference? You should also consider asking your boss in a roundabout fashion for equal pay. If you can help it, don’t settle to be underpaid and start looking for a better job ASAP. - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/8 "2012-08-04T23:51:51Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > Life _is_ fair and it begins with how you treat people. That’s probably the most naively misinformed statement ever posted on the Dope. Life is not now, never has been, and never will be fair. Don’t believe me? Ask the relatives of the victims of any natural disaster, terrorist attack, drunk driver, plane crash, war, or other random fatal event. You or someone you love may get killed or otherwise suffer harm the next time you or they leave home. That wouldn’t be fair, but it happens to somebody all the time. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/9 "2012-08-05T00:23:21Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > I am fascinated by this rationalization. In my experience, the same people who rationalize an injustice with “Life isn’t fair” are, more often that not, the same cruel individuals that make life unfair for the rest of us. Frankly, I wish all of them would just commit _seppuku_ so the rest of us can treat each other with humanity without their interference. Life _is_ fair and it begins with how you treat people. > > As for the OP, you noted that the employee who gets paid more than you is also picking up outside contractors. Have you ruled out that his extra pay is due to this difference? You should also consider asking your boss in a roundabout fashion for equal pay. If you can help it, don’t settle to be underpaid and start looking for a better job ASAP. > > - Honesty Pardon me? I treat everyone I meet with as much respect as I expect from them. However the reality of life is that there unfair people out there and you better be prepared to deal with them. And the best way to deal with it is to excell and move on, don’t be a whiny baby. As far as you suggesting I commit suicide because I am offering real life advice, well, I will leave it to your imagination as to what I think of that, and what I think of the kind of person who would make such a suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/10 "2012-08-05T00:54:47Z")
[quote=“foopyx, post:1, topic:630451”] I drive a company car to the work site everyday and shuttle several coworkers along with me. I pick them up and drop them off at a lot thirty minutes from said work site. The car is left there overnight and I hang onto the keys. Except my day off which someone else drives and holds the keys. I am compensated with an extra thirty mins of pay each day for my one nor’Easter worth of driving. **Company pays for all auto expenses (gas, tolls, oil changes, etc.)** Another person does the same exact thing, except two of his passengers just randomly happen to be outside contractors who work with us. They are allotted $20 per day each for travel expenses from their company. So along with his extra thirty mins pay he pockets an additional $1200 cash a month ($40 x 30 days). What would you guys do? I feel shortchanged.[/Q] WTF? How are you being shortchanged? Your company is being shortchanged, not you. Your co-worker should be turning the additional cash over to the company. It’s stealing. He is being paid by the company to provide a service and is pocketing cash on the side for providing a service he is already being paid by the company to do. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/11 "2012-08-05T06:36:28Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > I am fascinated by this rationalization. In my experience, the same people who rationalize an injustice with “Life isn’t fair” are, more often that not, the same cruel individuals that make life unfair for the rest of us. Frankly, I wish all of them would just commit _seppuku_ so the rest of us can treat each other with humanity without their interference. Life _is_ fair and it begins with how you treat people. > > - Honesty People don’t make life unfair for you and the rest of you. Life is as it is. YOU are the one that calls it unfair, based on YOUR values. When things don’t go the way you want, you try to blame “cruel people”, rather than your own lack of preparation, excellence, follow-up, ability to control all variables, etc. Life isn’t fair. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/12 "2012-08-05T06:48:08Z")
[quote=“LurkerInNJ, post:10, topic:630451”] > [@foopyx](#): > > I drive a company car to the work site everyday and shuttle several coworkers along with me. I pick them up and drop them off at a lot thirty minutes from said work site. The car is left there overnight and I hang onto the keys. Except my day off which someone else drives and holds the keys. I am compensated with an extra thirty mins of pay each day for my one nor’Easter worth of driving. **Company pays for all auto expenses (gas, tolls, oil changes, etc.)** > > Another person does the same exact thing, except two of his passengers just randomly happen to be outside contractors who work with us. They are allotted $20 per day each for travel expenses from their company. So along with his extra thirty mins pay he pockets an additional $1200 cash a month ($40 x 30 days). > > What would you guys do? I feel shortchanged.[/Q] > > WTF? > > How are you being shortchanged? Your company is being shortchanged, not you. Your co-worker should be turning the additional cash over to the company. It’s stealing. He is being paid by the company to provide a service and is pocketing cash on the side for providing a service he is already being paid by the company to do. This pretty much. But beyond all, that assuming they let him keep his lucky bounty from the contractors, how does this in any way obligate the company to pay you more cash? The bonus contractor cash is not coming from your company, it’s an outside income stream. Let’s say I’m the owner of your company and you come to me complaining of this inequity. **Owner:** So let me understand. You want me to pay you an extra 40 dollars a day out of company money in addition to the half hour pay you already get for driving because…? **foopyx:** Because Joe gets extra money from the contractors for driving them! **Owner:** Well lucky Joe, but that’s the outside contractor’s money which they can spend as they choose, why am I dipping into _my_ till to pay you this $ 40.00? **foopyx** : Joe gets $ 40.00 extra! It’s not fair! I’m being shortchanged! **Owner:** I see… here’s how we’re going to fix that… (this extrapolation probably does not end well for you) ---
**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:** [August 5, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/13 "2012-08-05T13:50:23Z")
You’re not being shortchanged. The money comes from another source, not your employer. Why don’t you get one of the contractors to start riding with you? ---
**Author:** ![foopyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3e96dc/32.png) [@foopyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foopyx)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/14 "2012-08-05T14:32:14Z")
Appreciate the replies. I understand that life isn’t fair. Sorry if my post appeared to be me whining about that. What I was more interested in was what you guys would do. Quit, and become a contractor myself. I’m not qualified to. Ignore the perceived inequality because hey life isn’t fair. Already my default approach to handling life. Split the contractors. They are a pair that want to ride together. The first day they came out, I had two people in my car, other guy had one. So they hopped in his car. bring it up to the boss. He obviously wouldn’t hand me more money. He may confiscate the funds going to the other driver. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/15 "2012-08-05T16:21:55Z")
First of all, don’t talk money with co workers. Problems always arise from these talks. Second of all, it doesn’t sound like your situation is that bad. It’s bad when you find out a coworker makes more an hour when doing less or equal to you. I wouldn’t take this to the boss because it might create trouble for the other guy. That will possibly come back to bite you. I would let it go. Maybe ask for a raise in general, because you should be doing that anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/16 "2012-08-05T16:57:42Z")
Your co-worker, the other driver, is stealing from the company and should be fired. That’s what I would do if he worked for me. He is in fact taking money ‘under the table’ and un-taxed too. Money that should be going to the business. The contractors are offering compensation for travel expenses. The company is incurring these expenses, not the driver, and that money should be forwarded to the business. The driver is already being paid for his work. I would be very surprised if the company knows about this and approves or allows it. An audit of your company or of the contractors could lead to bigger issues, fines, if this practice is revealed. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/17 "2012-08-05T17:54:30Z")
I would talk it over with your boss. It sounds like the other worker is defrauding the company and/or the contractors. I don’t know of any company that allows individuals to pocket cash from other people’s expense accounts. Are you just trying to get a piece of your coworker’s shady scheme? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/18 "2012-08-05T18:46:51Z")
Honestly, if I were you I would be very careful about confronting anyone, boss or co-worker, re how they are paid. You appear to be at the bottom of the food chain and based on you OP you have limited knowledge of what may have been arranged. Going in with presumption that you are being shafted or someone else is stealing is likely to seriously annoy people if you don’t have all the facts, and to be frank it appears you may not have all the facts. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/19 "2012-08-05T20:35:22Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > That’s probably the most naively misinformed statement ever posted on the Dope. Life is not now, never has been, and never will be fair. > > Don’t believe me? Ask the relatives of the victims of any natural disaster, terrorist attack, drunk driver, plane crash, war, or other random fatal event. > > You or someone you love may get killed or otherwise suffer harm the next time you or they leave home. That wouldn’t be fair, but it happens to somebody all the time. I disagree. What you’ve described is _chaos_ not fairness. A tornado whipping through Kansas is not “unfair” it iss the result of living in a chaotic universe. A non-smoker musician whose lung cells turned cancerous after a whiff of second-hand smoke is not “unfair” it’s, again, a part of living in a chaotic world. However, unequal pay is not due to the chaos of the universe, but rather, an unfairness - implicit or purporseful - that originates from other cruelty and selfishness human beings. Not all human beings, mind you, just the specific kind that manipulate, take advantage, and ride roughshod over others. - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451/20 "2012-08-05T22:03:45Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > People don’t make life unfair for you and the rest of you. Life is as it is. YOU are the one that calls it unfair, based on YOUR values. When things don’t go the way you want, you try to blame “cruel people”, rather than your own lack of preparation, excellence, follow-up, ability to control all variables, etc. > > Life isn’t fair. You’re wrong. Cruel people have been shown [time](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21931153), [time](http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/01/11/why-narcissistic-ceos-kill-their-companies/), and [time](http://www.amazon.com/Psychopath-Test-Journey-Through-Industry/dp/1594488010) again to seek positions of power as our bosses, our supervisors, our police officers, etc. I’m not saying _all_ or even _most_ of the bosses are evil people but I know that these low-level sociopaths specifically seek the aforementioned positions out. More than that, these people are the first to dismiss their cruelty and the plight of others with “Life is unfair.” What terrible way to view the world. It’s been hammered into us so much that the contrary seems implausible. - Honesty [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfair-pay-what-would-you-do/630451.md?page=2)