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On Unemployment while freelancing

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niteskyy

Guest
I had let go an employee due to a severe downturn in my industry (thank you, 9-11). I gave him a short severence and hired him on a freelance basis during the ensuing months. A year after the layoff, he retained a lawyer and sued me stating that I owed him more severance as well as additional vacation pay. The merits of the lawsuit notwithstanding, I settled rather then fight. He continued to badmouth me around town and to other employees.

Last week I realized that while I was hiring him on freelance (in excess of $10K) he was collecting unemployment. I would be very interested in finding out if he had listed my freelance payments to the state. Is there a way of determining from the state if he had?

I don't necessarily want to see him going to jail but I would like to use it as a club when I ask him to keep his mouth shut. I live in MN. Thanks!
 
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I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
niteskyy said:
I had let go an employee due to a severe downturn in my industry (thank you, 9-11). I gave him a short severence and hired him on a freelance basis during the ensuing months. A year after the layoff, he retained a lawyer and sued me stating that I owed him more severance as well as additional vacation pay. The merits of the lawsuit notwithstanding, I settled rather then fight. He continued to badmouth me around town and to other employees.

Last week I realized that while I was hiring him on freelance (in excess of $10K) he was collecting unemployment. I would be very interested in finding out if he had listed my freelance payments to the state. Is there a way of determining from the state if he had?

I don't necessarily want to see him going to jail but I would like to use it as a club when I ask him to keep his mouth shut. I live in MN. Thanks!

My response:

Oh, I just love revenge stories! Blackmail is even better.

Let's see - - he bites the hand that feeds him, and badmouth's you, and yet you don't want him going to jail for fraud? You call the State Unemployment Office, Frauds Division and report his ass. What he has done has hurt you, and other employers.

You're just a soft touch. I've got some beachfront property in Idaho for sale. Interested?

IAAL
 
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niteskyy

Guest
Yeah, I'm a softie...

... and I've already bought the beach front... thanks though. I really wanted to know if I could find out from the state whether he posted any exemptions (from my freelance pay, for instance) before I confronted him. I just didn't him say, "I reported it, jerk." It would be more satisfying to watch him fume... and then go to jail.
 
How did you pay him when he was free-lancing for you? Did you issue the proper forms to report his income to the gov't , such as 1099 ? I believe the State will see any report of income automatically... so unless you paid him under the table, you may not have to do anything and just sit back and watch the show.
 
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niteskyy

Guest
Everything was on the up-an-up and he did receive a 1099. The state cross-referencing from the 1099s may work, but I decided to contact the state to help the process along. Thanks!
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
If everything is on the up and up, then the state will catch him if there is any fraud.

You were sued by him and LOST.

It sounds like you are retailating against him because you lost.

I suggest you get out a copy of your settlement agreement and read the fine print at the end of the agreement where most likely you will find a confidentiality agreement defining what you can and can't do. If you do not understand that, call your attorney and ask again.

If his bad mouthing you is the truth and or what the record claims, you reap what you sow, if not I'm sure your attorney will tell you your options.
 

JETX

Senior Member
Lets see if I have this right.....
You think that you have evidence of a crime being committed.... but rather than report it (as any 'normal' responsible citizen would or should do), you want to somehow use it "as a club when I ask him to keep his mouth shut" and "to watch him fume... and then go to jail". Right???

So, quit being an immature, pedomorphic, puerile, vengeful, implacable, inimical, punitive, rancorous idiot and do what you should have done in the first place.... report him.
 

BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
So, quit being an immature, pedomorphic, puerile, vengeful, implacable, inimical, punitive, rancorous idiot and do what you should have done in the first place.... report him.
GAWD, I love it when he gets nasty :D
 
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niteskyy

Guest
JETX said:
So, quit being an immature, pedomorphic, puerile, vengeful, implacable, inimical, punitive, rancorous idiot and do what you should have done in the first place.... report him.
Well... you know what they say about free advice: You get what you pay for. You're right. I'll report the guy. I was just wondering if I could get evidence of the crime before doing so.
 

JETX

Senior Member
niteskyy said:
I was just wondering if I could get evidence of the crime before doing so.
Why??? Are you now trying to play 'police'?? Quit being a twit and report the guy. Let the professionals take care of it.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
If you report a crime in good faith there is usually some protection, it is the responsibility to the entitity to investigate and gather evidence. Now if you are reporting in BAD FAITH, that is another story and no protection and possible penalties for making a report in bad faith or false reports, sometimes very serious consequences. That is why I told you to check with your attorney free advise here isn't going to replace that advise, unless you are avoiding it because you know what they will say?

Also when you report them remember they will check you out so don't forget to tell them that he sued you, you lost and are now making this report, also that if you believed there was a crime, why did you delay so long to report it, making you accessory after the fact.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Um, where are you getting that he lost the lawsuit? He settled out of court. That is NOT the same thing as a loss.
 
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niteskyy

Guest
rmet4nzkx said:
... if you believed there was a crime, why did you delay so long to report it, making you accessory after the fact.
It literally just occurred to me. I was a very busy at the time and wasn't alerted by my bookkeeping dept. that he had filed unemployment.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
"The merits of the lawsuit notwithstanding, I settled rather then fight. He continued to badmouth me around town and to other employees."

Of course I know he settled and I said he LOST, two times on purpose for that very reason. He has responded to others and has not disputed that he lost. While the settlement may admit no wronging, the evidence is still evidence and he is estopped from contradicting it. That is why I told him to refer to the fine print in his settlement agreement before proceeding and to consult his attorney, because they know what we don't. That is why I told him about the possible consequences of retaliation, bad faith and false reports. He may feel his ex employee is bad mouthing him, but if he is telling the truth it is not slander.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Regardless of what your intent was or whether he did or did not respond when you incorrectly called a settlement a loss, the fact remains that they are not the same thing.
 

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