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What can your employer do to you for non-performance?

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beekr

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 3, 2014
Messages
82
Okay so due to reasons that I won't get in to are totally my fault, basically I've been under a huge amount of pressure lately to produce the work I was supposed to have been doing the last two months. I've done basically nothing, just procrastinated. I've been lying every day about my progress like "about 50% done on this part" and "oh ran into a snag here delayed me" and "oh sorry I thought I had already posted those docs, darn now I can't find them"

So now that I've destroyed any sympathy you might have had for me, because I am a parasite making everybody else in the workplace miserable, I have more and then a question. And it's not like I've been happy doing this, been very stressful and I feel terrible but just couldn't concentrate for reasons I won't go into.

So anyway, I've been getting paid the whole time of course but yesterday it got so bad - getting phone calls, making me squirm in my chair asking for specifics - I just flat out resigned effective immediately. I quit. Okay so normally I know that that's it, I just have to give back the equipment I have from them (my laptop) and they owe me nothing and more importantly I owe them nothing (or do I owe them the fictional work I said I had done?)

To make things more complicated and probably worse: This company hired me to work as a contractor for another company. So I was getting paid by this pimp who took care of payroll taxes and gave me some benefits, but I was working at the client's office (but mostly from home actually), doing software stuff.

So by not producing anything and resigning, I'm pretty sure I've dealt these people a severe blow in terms of their relationship for this major client they have. The client might even be able to sue them I don't know, and they may lose the client, and go out of business, I don't know.

So my questions are:
* can they do anything to me?
* Can they take my salary back (directly from my bank account like for direct deposit but the reverse)
* Can they sue me for damages and drive me into bankruptcy?
* Can they destroy my reputation by posting something about me online or something?
* Can they tell a new employer who calls them for prior employment verification what happened and cost me the new job?
* Can I omit this job from my CV without a new company saying wtf, even if they don't know why I left?

I'm nervous too because they haven't gotten back to me since I sent the resignation email, just a curt email asking me to send the work I have for them. I sent one pathetic snippet of code I worked on for like an hour.

Thank you. I hang my head in shame :-( I'll be taking a break trying to get my head right and maybe look for new line of work. ugh!
 
Oh man that's rough, but at least you resigned as opposed to them sacking you. I'm not sure what they can do to you as you were a contractor and I'm in the U.S. I had a situation similar because I was very depressed and sometimes it was crippling. But my boss would catch me, asking what my progress was and I would hem and haw before admitting I hadn't accomplished anything.

Don't beat yourself up too bad because there is nothing you can do about it now. They probably won't give you a good reference so it might be best to remove from your CV if you can. How long were you employed by them? If this is work you no longer enjoy, definitely look into a different field.
 
Thanks T. Calderone, yea I know how uncomfortable that heming and hawing is, ugh. Depression is a cold heartless bitch.

I'm really worried they could do something to me though, anybody have answers to my questions? I'm in California btw. I hang my head in shame.
 
Bummer dude. I would think about looking for a good lawyer. Since the company has been paying your for work you didn't do, that's the same as punching a time clock, taking 8 hour nap, punching back out, going home, and enjoying the spoils of your unearned paychecks. I'm not making a moral judgment, just an analogy.

Have they been emailing you these past couple of months? Check your inbox and outbox because they're gonna pursue a paper trail to most likely charge you with fraud. I'm not sure if you understand the gravity of the situation quite yet but there are prolly some federal laws somewhere that you've been breaking. Worse case scenario is you end up wearing an orange jumpsuit in some minimum security correctional facility. Remember, on the first day in, pick a fight with and sucker punch the biggest guy there. And obviously don't drop the soap in the shower.

Re: T Calderone's contractor comment.....If you were an employee of the company then the plaintiff can sue the company. If you were an independent contractor then you don't have those protections. IOW they can sue you directly because an independent contractor is considered a business owner, which is why you get a 1099 instead of a W2 when you file your taxes.

Like I said, get a good lawyer cuz no matter how this ends you will end up with no money left. Still, it isn't the end of the world. Nine years ago I was homeless on the streets and everything I owned I could carry with me. It's a tough economy for a lot of people. Think about taking up a trade. If you do end up with a felony under your belt, a complete career change is in your destiny.

I know I gave you a worse case scenario but I can't think of a best case one right now. If they go the civil route instead of criminal route then yes, you will most likely have to file bankruptcy. Like I said, no money left.
 
I had to reread part of the OP. Yeh, consider that position null and void from your resume for as long as they are in business. Part of the reason you will need a career change is because your name will be forever besmirched in whatever industry you're in.
 
OK I am seriously freaking out now, are you serious? They can't prove I wasn't doing the work, I claimed incompetence in my resignation letter, than I was unable to do the work in spite of my best efforts and that it's best for everyone that I just resign. I was an employee of the contracting company so not liable from the client but I'm worried about what the contracting company can do to me.
 
Just read my employment contract, I am an "at-will" employee meaning that they can fire me at any time for any reason and without notice and I can quit the same way.
 
Yes I am serious but it all may depend on what kind of contract the two companies had with one another. Who knows, maybe you'll just end up with a tarnished reputation in the industry. How were you paid? Did they pay you by the hour? With a salary? Did they pay you by the job like on a commission?
 
beekr said:
Just read my employment contract, I am an "at-will" employee meaning that they can fire me at any time for any reason and without notice and I can quit the same way.
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Just because you can quit any time does not mean you can't be held liable. You can't crash the company car, flush the cell phone, or smash your laptop and expect to not be held liable. The same could possibly go for work that did not get produced.
 
I was paid hourly, I logged my hours each week (up to 40) and the manager approved it. But the contracting company paid me a salary with paid time off and holidays etc. So I collected a salary but I initiated billing from the company. But I was at my desk all day just spinning my wheels, monitoring email and all, so I did show up. I was just ineffective and then deceitful in describing my progress when asked. Oh man oh man oh man.
 
beekr said:
I was paid hourly, I logged my hours each week (up to 40) and the manager approved it. But the contracting company paid me a salary with paid time off and holidays etc. So I collected a salary but I initiated billing from the company. But I was at my desk all day just spinning my wheels, monitoring email and all, so I did show up. I was just ineffective and then deceitful in describing my progress when asked. Oh man oh man oh man.
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You may have cost your manager his or her job for approving your hours but not monitoring your productivity. It's prolly not as bad as I described earlier but it never hurts to break a sweat once in a while.
 
Okay let's say worst case scenario: the contracting company comes after me for damages they incur due to losing the business with the client and for damaging their relationship with the client, or if the client sues them over my non-performance. So they serve me a document telling me so. Do my assets immediately get frozen? I mean do I have to time to get my money out of the bank before it all begins. And can I actually be charged criminally? This for just lying about my progress on a project and when busted just up and quitting? Could the cops actually come and take me away like right now?

Ugh I feel terrible about this. I want to get it over with.
 
employees fall behind. you fell really behind. you needed to take a valium, not resign. suck it up and make some phone calls tomorrow. if this is work you can do, then do. this isn't the end of the world. you are not gonna go bankrupt or go to prison. you must be completely fucking your professional reputation. i bet you can do some serious damage control if you just power through it and help this company salvage your project. if you are seriously not capable of doing the job the hired you to do and it took two months of you doing nothing but checking your emails for them to figure it out, i dunno man. laugh. sounds like a rough few months. whatever you do, fuck worrying. your children won't starve.
 
hydroazuanacaine said:
employees fall behind. you fell really behind. you needed to take a valium, not resign. suck it up and make some phone calls tomorrow. if this is work you can do, then do. this isn't the end of the world. you are not gonna go bankrupt or go to prison. you must be completely fucking your professional reputation. i bet you can do some serious damage control if you just power through it and help this company salvage your project. if you are seriously not capable of doing the job the hired you to do and it took two months of you doing nothing but checking your emails for them to figure it out, i dunno man. laugh. sounds like a rough few months. whatever you do, fuck worrying. your children won't starve.
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Thanks for your response! I'm in a bad place right now can't concentrate and don't want to talk to anyone. I don't even know where to begin and then I don't know how to do it, it'll take a lot of research and resourcefulness to even get started. But I said I was doing said research and making progress and starting to code but instead I was just literally sitting there not doing jack shit but worrying :-( I can't un-resign, that'd be ridiculous, I've burnt my bridges like a mofo. I just want to know if they can come after me for the negative consequences of me not having done my job, although being without a paycheck will hurt a lot.
 
* Can they take my salary back (directly from my bank account like for direct deposit but the reverse) - not unless you signed a contract that included a clawback clause specifically allowing it.
* Can they sue me for damages and drive me into bankruptcy? - not a lawyer, but i really can't imagine this happening unless it was A LOT of money. and even then i suspect you would have had to have had a clause in your contract specifically stating that they could sue you for pay if you didn't perform. but this sounds wildly unlikely
* Can they destroy my reputation by posting something about me online or something? - unless it's a really small, unprofessional organization, they're probably well on their way to forgetting you. you're not the first work-from-home contract-worker to slack off for a couple of months.
* Can they tell a new employer who calls them for prior employment verification what happened and cost me the new job? - they can, but any employer with a whiff of legal sense will just confirm your dates of employment and end the call. i definitely wouldn't use them if i were you, but companies can be sued for saying things that cause you to lose a future job.
* Can I omit this job from my CV without a new company saying wtf, even if they don't know why I left? - how long were you there? employers ask about gaps in your history, but if it was just a few months it'd probably be better to just say you were looking for work. don't outright lie, but do what you can (within reason) to keep it from coming up.
 
double ewe said:
they can, but any employer with a whiff of legal sense will just confirm your dates of employment and end the call. i definitely wouldn't use them if i were you, but companies can be sued for saying things that cause you to lose a future job.
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i agree that, due to litigiousness, companies have got very shy about doing anything other than confirming dates.

if somebody called them for a reference and everything they told them was factually accurate, there would be no liability, nor would the op have much of a defamation case. while it may be hard to link the handle to the person, the fact that he's publicly admitted on the public internet that he did nothing is not the smartest move.

alasdair
 
Thanks folks, I appreciate it. Still nervous about being pursued for fraud or something but I guess I'll have to live with it.

Only remaining question is then - say I get served with such a lawsuit, can they freeze my bank account and force me to surrender my passport right then and there?
 
Damn, it seems like the most fucked up people get decent jobs working with computers... I need to get with the times and check this field out. I'd totally love to con people into giving me money like Senior OP here.
 
I got a legal background, but iam not from the usa, so cant give you any safe advice. In general you just got a contract with your employer and NOT with the customer. The customer could not sue you directly. He can sue your employer. Your employer is responsible for the workers he assignes to do the job. So if your employer assignes you to the job and you do no good work, its his problem. Over here the employer could only sue the employee if he did something bad on purpose, but its kind of hard to prove that.
 
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