Hi guys, trying to search for advice and I know the labor board is who I eventually go to but not seeing what I’m looking for with my case here. I’ll try to provide as many pertinent details as possible to set the scene.
My friend works at a rental company in Northeastern Indiana as a leasing agent. They’re scum of the earth, I worked there for 9 months in the same position as him (leasing) and took a pay cut to move to something better. They have extremely high turnover and low Indeed reviews because their M.O. is to blame the employees when things aren’t perfect, threaten their jobs, and eventually either drive them to quit or have them fired. Good employees, too, doesn’t matter to them. They just don’t know what it means to take accountability for anything, so they currently have 4 leasing agents for 2,000 properties across Indiana.
Anyway, my friend who still works there currently has been told he will not be retained within the next couple months because he’s going to school and will need to be somewhat part-time (he could still do 30 hours easy- they just expect 40 plus another 10-20 outside of the job following up with clients each day). Even with only 4 employees in his position, and him easily being one of the best 2 in every regard, they’d rather get rid of him than work around his schedule. So he set a tentative end date this weekend with his manager for March 18th, and asked us to help him start his job search!
First red flag was that when we asked him all about it, he said his manager threatened to give a horrible reference to anyone asking if he didn’t provide his full two weeks, which is whatever but indicative of their overall style. It got worse, though, when he told us she forced him to sign a write-up, which I know is so they could fire him without paying unemployment, but he signed it anyway since she was threatening his job. He can’t be without work, he has bills to pay.
Now we’re to today, which should be a day off for him, and we’re told he’s at work. When we asked him what’s up, he said his manager told him he needed to come in as ‘punishment’ for the write up, and he’d be working unpaid, or he’d be fired. Terrified for his job, he’s there, working off the clock, and has been since 9 am. He’s currently working, right now, and I told him I’d be gathering as much info as possible to talk about how to properly handle this with him tonight. He’s angry and hurt of course, but also very scared because he’s fairly tight on money and can’t risk losing his income outright. On top of that, the write-up makes him think they’re just planning to fire him soon regardless.
I’m sure he doesn’t have anything in writing regarding working unpaid today, as his manager calls him consistently for the things she wants, but he does have communication records with clients of course, and would certainly be able to show the lack of pay for the day on his future pay stubs to prove it. What are next steps to protect him for the time being while also protecting his rights from this company that is quite literally forcing slave labor on him right now?
Thanks in advance for any help, I’d REALLY appreciate it. I’ll be seeing him at about 9:45 EST tonight to talk, as I work from 4-9:30, so I also might not be the most responsive here soon. I’d just really appreciate any personalized insights or advice to help him with!