I took a freelance job where employer put me in unreasonable circumstances...

[umbellate]

Massachusetts
Middlesex County

I am a freelance court reporter. I accepted a job to do a government hearing for a court reporting agency.

The job was a court reporting appearance and a next-day transcript. I understood the job to be incredibly difficult time-frame-wise, and I vehemently expressed hesitation and reluctance to take the job based on the circumstances. I was told I could be given more time to produce the transcript if the hearing went longer than expected. The hearing did, in fact, go two hours over the estimated time, and I was NOT given more time.

The work I produced was admittedly sub-par. I could not produce a proper transcript given the time frame.

The agency refuses to pay me. I want to file a small claims suit for (a) $4.50/page [next-day expedited rate], (b) $3.99/pg [expedited rate], or (c) $3.00/pg. [normal rate]. Again, the transcript was of poor quality, but I made the agency aware of the risk they were taking by agreeing to give me the job.

Just wondering what my chances are of receiving an award, and if anyone can suggest which page rate to sue for, I'd love your help!

 

[LdiJ]

Massachusetts
Middlesex County

I am a freelance court reporter. I accepted a job to do a government hearing for a court reporting agency.

The job was a court reporting appearance and a next-day transcript. I understood the job to be incredibly difficult time-frame-wise, and I vehemently expressed hesitation and reluctance to take the job based on the circumstances. I was told I could be given more time to produce the transcript if the hearing went longer than expected. The hearing did, in fact, go two hours over the estimated time, and I was NOT given more time.

The work I produced was admittedly sub-par. I could not produce a proper transcript given the time frame.

The agency refuses to pay me. I want to file a small claims suit for (a) $4.50/page [next-day expedited rate], (b) $3.99/pg [expedited rate], or (c) $3.00/pg. [normal rate]. Again, the transcript was of poor quality, but I made the agency aware of the risk they were taking by agreeing to give me the job.

Just wondering what my chances are of receiving an award, and if anyone can suggest which page rate to sue for, I'd love your help!

I honestly don't think that anyone here is in a position to advise you.

 

[justalayman]

in the end, did they accept the transcript and use it as intended?

 

[umbellate]

Yes, they used the transcript...

And the agency claims they lost the government account because the transcript was poor. Which I can't vouch for... Again, I expressed to the agency what a reasonable time frame would be to produce such a transcript, but the agency ignored it. At the time I guess I felt like I was doing them a favor because they could not find anyone else, but I feel sort of betrayed, to be honest!

 

[Dave1952]

You seem to be saying that no other court reporter was willing to accept this job because of extremely difficult time constraints. You believed that you could do this job but that it required the agency to give you more time. I don't follow how the agency could give you more time when the customer was insisting on a timely transcript. The agency did not control the time. The point I'm trying to make is that no one, even you, could produce the work within the customer's time frame. I'm puzzled, therefore, as to why you took this job. Something doesn't add up.
Who used the transcript, the customer or the agency?
I think that you've damaged your own reputation and the reputation of the court reporting agency that supplied you to the customer.
I'd imagine that you know lawyers because of your business. Solicit a few opinions.
Sorry, my advice is to forget the money and be wiser in the future. Chalk this up to experience.

 

[justalayman]

If they accepted the transcript without modification of the contract, they owe you whatever you were contracted to be paid.