I’m a criminal defense investigator who primarily does state funded indigent cases. The state pays contractors $40/hr for investigative work. I accepted a job a few years ago at a new firm at the rate of $30/hr (the state pays $40/hr, and the company keeps $10).
This made sense at the time; I got a regular paycheck, help with administrative functions, and I saved money on various software licenses and memberships. I was very clear with them when I took the job that $30/hr was the minimum amount I could accept, considering I can turn around and go back to freelancing for $40/hr.
Friday my boss called me and broke the news that due to financial difficulties, they were going to have to cut my pay to $25/hr. I told them “no thanks, I’ll just go back out on my own”. My boss was taken aback and seemed completely unprepared for this response.
I open my phone this morning and find that I’m locked out of my company email and server (where all of my casework is). I told my boss that I was going to need access to that in order to transfer my work to my personal computer. Her response was that the company owns the material and I couldn’t take my cases with me.
I emailed all of the attorneys I work for and explained the situation. My boss is now being inundated with emails from pissed off attorneys demanding the work product back that their defendants are legally entitled to. My boss managed to lose her best employee and piss off all the attorneys who had been working with her firm in one fell swoop. Her business is doomed and I couldn’t be happier about it.