I just wanted to tell y’all about the MAJOR victory I just got.
Backstory: I got told by a friend that he found a business that really needs someone with my skill set, $20 an hour, full benefits, great place. I’m down, I go, I meet the owner, he tells me that it’s $20 an hour, full time, blah blah blah and I’ll be staging equipment. I’m so in it’s insane. He then tells me “I’m gonna hire you as a 1099 contractor for 30 days and if I like you after that, I’ll hire you on, deal?” I said sure, reluctantly, and got to work.
That day and the next day I worked a total of 9 hours, and I started thinking “This is shady, I haven’t signed paperwork, or anything.” And he was having me do janitorial stuff, cleaning, hanging TVs, not stuff that I was hired to do.
So I send him a message saying thanks for the opportunity, I’m quitting effective immediately, I need my pay for the 9 hours, the total amount, my address, and that I needed my pay within 7 days of the notice (per my state’s laws). He tells me he’ll pay me.
As of 5 pm the day he was supposed to pay me, when I still hadn’t received payment, I filed with the state labor board, advising them I feel he was hiring me as a 1099 to skirt having to pay me, I have GPS coordinates proving I was there, times listed, everything.
Current: I spoke with the state today. They had asked them if I worked for them for those hours and they replied I had worked for them, but walked out of the job, I didn’t do any work for them, so they shouldn’t have to pay me, but in good favor, they’re paying me anyway and have already paid it. The state had a simple question for me
Have you been paid yet?
I told them while it’s funny they say I’ve worked there while also not working there, no I haven’t been paid.
The state said they’re penalizing them. In my state, that means they have to pay me a full shift for every day from the time they were supposed to, up to determination.
He went from paying me around $160 to over $8000.
TL:DR: Employer tried to exploit me for free labor, filed a complaint with the labor board, he now owes me around 50x the amount he did.