I worked a job two months ago and haven't been paid yet.

ego_loss

ego_loss

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 15, 2006
Messages
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I responded to an ad on Craigslist a couple months ago for independent contractors to work retail display reset jobs at home depots all over the state. My first assignment was in my hometown. I was working as an employee of a staffing agency, who was contracted by the manufacturer of various lighting solutions and ceiling fans to find people to work these jobs with members of their own corporate team.

My first night there, a couple other members of the corporate team told me that they had started working for the same staffing agency that hired me, and that it was like pulling teeth to get paid. I decided to wait for my paycheck before going to any more of their assignments. This was well over two months ago, and I still haven't been paid for the 20+ hours of work I did over the course of those two days.

I did some searching, and apparently this staffing agency has pulled this same stunt in other states with dozens of other hardworking people, some of them having rightfully earned thousands of dollars, none of them seeing a single dime.

The various contacts that I have at the company do not respond to any correspondence at all. Several people have filed complaints with the BBB... which apparently had no effect on the situation.



I am seriously at my wits end. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to deal with such an unscrupulous company?
 
Get everyone together who hasn't been paid. Make a list of their names, addresses, and phone numbers, and whether they would be willing to participate in a class-action lawsuit to sue this employer. Then find a good labor lawyer in your area. If you don't have anyone who can refer you to one, call your local county bar association and ask for referrals. See if you can find a lawyer you feel comfortable with who wants to sue the company on a contingent-fee basis. I.e., you pay no money; the lawyer's fee is taken from any recovery.

I don't know how good a case this is - the legal system is good at recovering for some wrongs, and poor for others - but it's worth investigating. If you can get a group of plaintiffs and a good attorney to nail these bastards and make them hurt where it counts, you will be helping all those who come after you.
 
If you just want to get paid your 20 hours, the simplest and fastest thing to do may be to pursue this in small claims court.

If they are sensible, they may just settle with you and not bother to send someone to argue a lost case for such a small amount of money. It may be that they expect most people not to know how to or bother trying to collect and will pay when properly confronted.

Worst case is that you get a judgment in your favor, and they still ignore you - but at least you're not out of too much more time or money and it becomes a matter of collection (which is not always easy) rather than proving your case.

I think it's worth an initial consult with a labor lawyer anyway to quickly go through all your options...
 
get in touch with the district attorney, prosecutor's office, or even your state's attorney general office.

withholding pay is a serious violation. it's that whole prohibition on slavery thing.
 
Dozens of other people who were also scammed by this company have filed complaints with the BBB, the attorney general et all... and it hasn't done them a bit of good.

I went one step further, I e-mailed the owner directly and threatened to get legendary Cleveland investigative reporter Carl Monday on his ass.

Literally five minutes later I got a response saying the check was in the mail. This is the third or fourth time they have used this line on me, so I went ahead and sent Carl an e-mail anyways telling him that dozens of Cleveland area workers were scammed by this company. Then I went ahead and sent the same e-mail to all the network affiliates in the Columbus, OH area, where the owner lives.

Even if I do get paid, I hope he gets dragged through the mud.
 
More news from the owner of the company. He says my "smear campaign" against him is slander, and unless I cease and desist HE will take ME to court.

So... just so I'm clear, if I go to the media and call him a slave driver because he has not paid me for the work I did for his company two months ago, and they pick up the story... it becomes libel, correct?

If, after the fact, he does pay me... can he still sue me for what was, at the time, the truth?
 
In the U.S., slander and libel are very difficult (and expensive) to prove. They are often used as a threat by non-lawyers, and rarely litigated successfully.

Put simply -- if you spoke false statements to the press, it would be considered slander. If the press recklessly printed those statements, it would be considered libel by the newspaper. There are a number of other concepts also involved, like damages, state of mind, and even First Amendment rights. Truth is an absolute defense to a libel or slander charge. Also, statements of pure opinion are not actionable.

If your boss has really not paid you and you tell someone else the truth about this, then there is no lie here and no slander. The present fact that he had not paid you does not become false if you are paid tomorrow, next week, or next year.
 
Banquo said:
In the U.S., slander and libel are very difficult (and expensive) to prove. They are often used as a threat by non-lawyers, and rarely litigated successfully.

Put simply -- if you spoke false statements to the press, it would be considered slander. If the press recklessly printed those statements, it would be considered libel by the newspaper. There are a number of other concepts also involved, like damages, state of mind, and even First Amendment rights. Truth is an absolute defense to a libel or slander charge. Also, statements of pure opinion are not actionable.

If your boss has really not paid you and you tell someone else the truth about this, then there is no lie here and no slander. The present fact that he had not paid you does not become false if you are paid tomorrow, next week, or next year.
Click to expand...


Awesome. That's all I needed to hear.

I already called his bluff and told him to sue me if he feels so inclined. I have the names of dozens of others who were treated exactly the same way as I have been, and most of them have already said they'd be willing to back me up.
 
UPDATE:

I got paid. On the same day, a news station in the hometown of the companie's owner contacted me saying they'd like to pick up the story.

I've put together a list of other men and women who were or are still owed money and sent that to the reporter.

If all goes according to plan, we are going to go on camera and expose this guy!

I have a feeling this will be more effective than taking him to small claims court.
 
thanks for the update. glad to hear that you finally got paid and that you are exposing what happened.
 
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