TLDR: We're a family here, blah blah blah, you aren't fired, but you have to give away your dog or terminate your contract.
I have worked for 12 years as an instructor and artist in a pretty niche entertainment activity that is popular at summer camps. This job tried to hire me as an independent contractor, which I pushed back on. My hours were fixed, the employer was going to hold an employee training session, we were using her equipment, on her property, and she set the wage I was going to be paid. My understanding is that this would definitely be classified as an employer/employee relationship.
I really wanted the job for several reasons but I knew these employers were misclassifying employees to save money. I was very conflicted, so I gave them a number that was not outrageous, but a little high. After some negotiation we agreed on something that I was willing to settle for. The official contract included more hours than originally agreed upon, on weekends that I previously had off, and a statement about how “1 or 2 hours of work is required” leaving a lot of ambiguity as to what labor I was going to be able to bill for and what was expected and considered “helping out”. I called to clarify some things and I decided to accept the position.
I got there, and loved it. Beautiful property, I met two of my coworkers who were great, and one of them had a dog that seemed to get along great with mine. While we were walking together, the owners came out, there was a lot of stimulus and the other dog bit mine and they got aggressive. I got caught in the middle of it and ended up getting bit by my own dog (this is important later).
The next day, a group of us were practicing our activity that I was hired for, and I realized that there was a safety issue that needed correcting. The owners insisted that this was way they had always done it and it was fine. In 12 years, and working on 20 different setups, this was the first time I had seen anyone operating it this way and there were clearly moments of high risk where the safety mechanism was not functional.
In an effort to make this known without causing a panic, I brought this to the attention of the owner, and it was brushed off but the conversation continued. I was eventually told that I could fix it myself, to which I responded that this was outside the scope of my responsibilities and my contract. My concern was that I was not insured to protect myself should any part of their safety equipment fail after I had altered it. They had a safety manager, this was their responsibility. Owners stormed away, as they later admitted, because they were angry.
Later that evening we all actually had a wonderful dinner, and I had high hopes that we would come to an understanding at the meeting we had scheduled to discuss how to proceed. During the meeting, I clarified that I was not asking for more money, that all I was asking for was that this safety issue was resolved. They deny that this is a safety issue at all, and that it is fine. They are upset that I referred to the contract and that there were certain things I was unwilling to do for them, as I was not protected from liability in the event that someone got hurt. Further discussion about the contract and pay results in the conclusion that they are expecting lots of additional labor for no extra charge. Owner keeps cherry picking certain info out of an email claiming that it is part of the contract but trying to claim that my dog is not part of the contract, despite this clearly being an offer and being in the same email. The dog comes up again because suddenly the owners express concern about the dog being a safety issue.
Eventually I ask about how to move forward, that this felt like I was being dismissed. There is talk about pay, responsibilities, they refuse to say that the contract is being terminated. They both leave in frustration and I am left not knowing what just happened.
One of the owners approaches me and says, “You can work the contract as written. You aren't going to like it here, but you can stay. The dog cannot.” I explained that this meant I was going to have to give up my dog, and that I couldn't do that. Their response was that this was me “terminating my contract”.
Now I'm driving back to my home state wondering what I'm going to do.