Employer never paid me my sick leave; told them that I am cleared to work but I will not consider returning until after I am paid. (the boss commits other forms of petty wage theft by my records, but entire days of accrued sick time are definitely not the line to cross)
Boss repeatedly calls me trying to talk “man to man” about the situation, i ignore the call in favor of well documented texts for legal purposes, moreover as the employer has proven himself in the past to be someone whose word holds no bearing so there is most definitely reason to be cynical. Texts progress as well as more ignored calls before he declares in text that he accepts my resignation; i respond to that text stating that I am not resigning, I am well within my rights to not work until payments from these past pay periods are remedied since the last time I checked- I am not a slave.
While I was responding I received several more calls and at some point the bastard left a nearly 2 minute voicemail which was shockingly somber sounding but it included 3 things which irked me:
– another acceptance of the resignation which I had never given.
– more bullshit about how I should be handling this in person.
– telling me to call or email him anything else which i have to say because, “this whole texting thing is pretty unprofessional, so i blocked your number from texting me” , where texting was his primary means of communication (outside of directly in person) throughout the entirety of my employment.
So I simply send an email reiterating my last two texts which he replies to reaffirming his stance that he will consider my refusal to work as my resignation anyway; and then I lay into the fucker, stating firmly that I have not resigned and that this coercion towards a resignation over unpaid wages seems like blatant employer retaliation against a complaint of unpaid wages (citing the State's Department of Labor webpage) and that I am glad that I had the foresight to have submitted my case with the state DOL two business days prior.
Suddenly his tune shifts and I am in fact entitled to my sick leave. However he grossly underestimated the amount, which when questioned he referred it to his “billing department” which is just his wife whom he is now using as a scapegoat. Telling me to expect a call the next day.
The call comes, a voicemail, his wife audibly claiming fault despite having little to nothing to do with day to day business and stating that it's a cell phone she called from, I text her to please reach me at [email]
hours later she responds with a number of sick days greater than what the boss had initially stated but still far less than what I know that I am owed, laying it out as the company policy of how sick time is handled; telling me that she can cut me a check for the days and also asking when i will be able to return a piece of company hardware as well as my uniform.
Sent a pretty wordy reply encapsulating my apologies that she had to be dragged into this because her husband is attempting to dodge accountability for his negligence, I address the illegal /non -compliant sick time policy citing the Minimum rate of accrual per out state's department of labor with a link to the webpage hosting the information, i breakdown my hours worked and provide the math showing why I am owed over double what the owner had estimated and still close to 150% of what she had offered to settle out with, i reiterate that I had not resigned and was deferring making any decisions on that matter until after i have been paid despite these deliberations not intilling me with any particular eagerness to return…. I question that seeing her husband's (i think 4 attempts by the time i emailed her) attempts to coerce a resignation from me, as well as her own request for the return of company property, that I should consider myself to be suspended, terminated, or otherwise not welcome back at work?
I apologized again for the need to be emailing however it is a necessity given the Owner's tendency to gaslight or otherwise abuse people and that I am not taking any chances while dealing with a corporation (technically an LLC but it's just the owner, myself, 1 coworker, and i guess technically the Owner's wife whom he despicably threw under the bus; i say corporation but i really do just mean the boss) which has already attempted no fewer than 2 distinct counts of 3rd degree theft as defined by [state] against me.
I end by addressing the petty company property, stating that hearing I am unwelcome to continue with the company I would be fine with returning the [item] as well as [not mentioned by her items] as soon as the direct deposit clears.
I haven't heard anything in a few hours, i never addressed the uniform because we don't have one unless you count the generic (none of our company branding at least) t-shirt which i was given a few months ago and have worn twice. I might follow-up tomorrow to ensure that what I assume is going to be my final paycheck from these crooks actually goes through the payroll company properly, cannot have it misrepresented for tax purposes. How long do y'all think it is before I get issued a proper letter of termination? Should I show up and try to work the next day after that direct deposit clears as if everything is normal? There are so many little things which contributed to this and I guess the real question is what is the best way to be as maliciously compliant as possible until I am truly out the door?
I already alluded to his wife that she's been made a scapegoat and talked about how he's abusive (as an employer), and that the behavior pattern was regrettably anticipated; they met after each being divorced, i don't know the details– but i have my educated guesses..
tl,dr; boss is a shithead that refuses to payout sick time, retaliates when called out for it, casts the blame on his relatively innocent wife, they're likely getting audited because of me, i haven't resigned (although it's unhealthy to go back); what further chaos can i cause?