Hello and thank you to all who take the time to read this and offer suggestions.
I work in sales for a company in California. After a couple months of working here, last minute payroll issues became the norm (“direct deposit is down”, “bank issues”, “returned check due to insufficient funds”).
I get payed commission and gas reimbursement. Two weeks ago, my paycheck was returned due to insufficient funds. I emailed the company to ask for a replacement check and reimbursement for this major inconvenience. I received an apologetic response of basically (paraphrased), “Sorry for the inconvenience, we don’t have the means to pay you currently and are working with our bank. We will let you know when we have settled up with them. If you want anything more than the paycheck we owe you, send us screenshots of overdraft fees. Thanks.”
There are other obvious red flags indicating that this company is a sinking ship.
They have implemented a ranking system for our department that immediately cuts over half of my coworkers’ commissions below what we agreed upon during onboarding. Some paychecks are getting cut by over 50%, others by 30%. Less than 1/3 of us at any given time are making the full amount agreed upon. If you have a bad week, your commission and opportunities to make a commission are slashed in half. Nobody agreed to this.
They have also increased prices to the point of price gouging and hold meetings with us to discuss and teach how we can trick people out of their money and keep them from knowing we ripped them off until the job is complete.
Emergency meetings involving the owner have now been a new norm. You can tell higher ups know something and are sweating bullets. They’re pinching pennies from their customers AND employees. Because of all this, I have found an excusable reason to be absent until further notice.
I’m looking for the highest paying course of action. Trying to find a law that states I’m entitled to a pay rate of “x” per day late until I’ve been payed what I’m owed. The only thing I can find is a $200 compensation for a recurring bounced check issue. I’ve experienced multiples more than $200 worth of inconvenience.
Thank you in advance for your advice. It is very much appreciated!