r/Antiwork I could use your input.
Preface: I’ve learned lessons, I’ve made mistakes, and I am not a smart man.
5 years ago I was between jobs. I quit one that made me miserable and was affecting my mental health when this amazing opportunity came along to join a tech startup in the field I wanted (career change).
Needless to say, I was unbelievably excited and best of all, I was working alongside one of my closest friends. The future was bright.
I was offered an hourly wage for 3 months until payroll could be setup and I would go on to be a salaried employee making more than i had ever made.
I ended up not getting on salary for about 6 months after it was stated in my offer letter but I was so excited for the role, I looked past this first warning sign.
When I finally got on salary, while filling out my tax info, I see my salary was 20% less than I was offered and accepted. This was my second WTF moment, and despite getting a really nonchalant reply when confronting the CEO, I looked past it because of promises of raises and bonuses that would make it all be water under the bridge (as stated, I am a stupid and gullible man).
It ended up being 2 years before I made that initial offered salary (to reiterate, I am a stupid man).
I was also promised an unspecified (or at least very murky amount of equity) that always seemed to be about to be issued and always changing in structure. Against my better judgment, I listened to my friend/colleague who assured me the founders were going to make good on their promise of equity, and my desire to get everything in writing was being paranoid (again, I am a stupid man with stupid friends).
Fast forward 5 years, I am completely over this job and have lost all respect for the CEO, and my friend recently left the company. I have absolutely zero fucks to give, still without equity, no bonus or raise in 2 years and I (and most of the company) are ready to walk out the door because of broken promises, mismanagement, and the usual clusterfuck of disrespect r/Antiwork specializes in.
Here’s where it gets interesting…
Over these 5 years, i’ve earned a fair amount of trust in the company and have had employees I manage, department heads as well as employees in other departments tell me “if you quit, I quit.“
The entire company is at a make or break moment where the next 90 days is critical for our cash flow and overall success and “finally being able to give raises and bonuses if we make it through this”
Last week was my breaking point when I caught the CEO lying to my face and our team (when he was not aware i have a zoom recording of him proving this). I lost my shit and it was the lie that crossed the line. I wrote my resignation letter that day, and sent it the next, with my last day being strategically set to be the worst case scenario for the company.
The founders are begging me to stay, they know the dominos that will fall if I leave, and I said I’d only consider staying if they met a list of demands which included the back pay promised during my original offer letter (with interest) as well as making good on other promises to our staff in exchange for me staying on for 90 days to get us through it.
So far, I’m not sure they’ll actually pay what was promised to me, but they’re between a rock and a hard place. If they refuse to pay, I’m considering going the legal route, but honestly I dont want to do this and would rather just get on with my life, but I’ve been dicked around so much, that I want retribution (and $$$) and force the company to make good on its promises as a parting gift.
What should I be doing to prepare for a possible legal battle? Is it even worth it? Do wage theft laws even apply to salaried workers? I’m too broke with impending unemployment to pay a NY lawyer.
Looking for advise, sympathy, or even a healthy dose of being told how stupid I am for putting up with this shit. Don’t hold back.
Notes
- I’m located in New York
- Its a tech startup that you’ve never heard of
- yes, this is one of these companies that says “employees are part of a family”
- I hardly even care about the equity at this point and think the company is going to go out of business, and as stated, I don’t have great documentation about specific amounts of equity in writing. I included this to drive home the theme that I am not a smart man who works for chronic liars.