Employer retaliation for demanding to be paid on time & fabricating lies

[keitheii]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York
I have a question that I was wondering if anyone had any advice on. My girlfriend worked for a small startup that works with the elderly but has financial problems due to lack of clients and what I consider to be gross mismanagement. She was supposed to get paid every two weeks but when payday came she would frequently be met with excuses why she wasn't getting paid yet such as "I had your check but I don't know where it is, I'll get it to you tomorrow" or "We mailed it but it got returned so I'll have to give it to you the next time you come in." Ultimately she was only paid a day or two late each time, but the angering part was that it was clear they were lying to her every pay period with false excuses. For example her employer would claim they printed her check "yesterday" but couldn't find where they put it so they'd have to reprint a new one at home since they don't have any checks at work and give it to her tomorrow... then when tomorrow comes they would give her a pay stub which showed it was only generated that very day
when it should have been dated two days prior.. and I don't mean the print date, I mean the pay period even reflected it wasn't closed out until that day. In addition it wouldn't even be a check but a statement and they would pay her in cash.. which is odd.. the paystubs weren't consistent and had different appearances many times, they didn't always have a summary of hours worked which is required by law here, amongst other things.. A few times they didn't even provide a stub and just handed her cash... There were other events as well which made it clear they were lying to her... returned mail which they magically couldn't provide to her by hand..etc.. Personally the stubs look home-made and I don't even think they've been paying her payroll taxes.. but that we will find out.

She never made an issue of it because she's afraid of confrontation.. but it upset her... eventually she was laid off and told that they were very sorry to do it but they just can't afford her since they're having a hard time getting clients.. But if things get better they'll hire her back because they love her and how she is with the patients... well only a few weeks later, they call her up and ask her to come back just a few days a week and informed her she would be paid weekly from now on. She went back to work, but continued having problems getting paid on time with even more excuses... I pushed her and had her text her employer that she expects to get paid in full and on time with a pay stub each week, she was told that it was "no problem".

This week she was told they didn't need her to come in but they would mail her check so she'd have it in time for the weekend. The check never came (as we were assuming it wouldn't due to the games her boss has played in the past) so she texted her boss asking if she mailed the check and her boss didn't respond... She then texted the boss's daughter who is part owner of the company and asked her if the check was sent, she replied that it was. She texted her boss later on asking if the check was really sent because it would have arrived by now and she really needs her paycheck. Her boss clearly didn't like getting the pressured about the check because she responded that it will be here on Monday with her termination letter. She asked why she was getting terminated and she said "for performance reasons". Clearly this isn't due to performance... You don't get re-hired and told how great you are if you have performance issues... it was clear this was retaliation for standing up for her rights to get paid on time.

In any event, we replied back to her boss that her termination is clearly not performance related due to the fact that there have been no performance issues, she was just re-hired and told how wonderful she is with the patients, and we let her know that retaliation for standing up for an employee's legal rights and her employer's obligations is illegal and she will be filing a complaint with the department of labor. That struck a nerve because her boss sent her a text storm with emotional outbursts which show she obviously isn't stable, and is now doing damage control to cover her ass. She replied that it was in fact due to performance issues because last Friday she abused two of the patients and had inappropriate outburst, and this will be stated in her termination letter that her attorney will be writing that she'll be receiving with her check on Monday and "that's why she didn't receive her check in the mail yet"

Now here are some facts:
1. She never abused any patients, and never had any outburst
2. She didn't even work last week, let alone last Friday
3. Her boss obviously lied about mailing her check (again) because now it's going to arrive on Monday with a letter that hasn't even been written yet
4. Her statement is 100% false and fabricated to cover her ass for the complaint my girlfriend is going to file with the dept of labor.
5. If her boss's statement was true, not only would she have been fired, there would have been a police report and family members would have had to be informed.
6. My GF has a voicemail saved from her boss telling her she doesn't need her to work this week, the tone and message make it clear that this is because business is slow.. not because she was fired or that there was an incident at work

The questions:

I think it's clear when you look at the timeline of events, the texts chasing her paycheck and stating she expects to get paid on time and her boss's response that this is clearly fabricated and an attempt to cover up her actions. What concerns me is that she's falsely accusing my girlfriend of doing something that is not only damaging to her reputation, but illegal and is FALSE. Who knows what her boss will say when jobs contact them for employment verification.. and she JUST had an interview with another company where it appears she's close to getting hired; an interview she had because of all the nonsense she was experiencing at her job trying to get paid amongst other things. How do you handle a situation like this?

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York
I have a question that I was wondering if anyone had any advice on. My girlfriend worked for a small startup that works with the elderly but has financial problems due to lack of clients and what I consider to be gross mismanagement. She was supposed to get paid every two weeks but when payday came she would frequently be met with excuses why she wasn't getting paid yet such as "I had your check but I don't know where it is, I'll get it to you tomorrow" or "We mailed it but it got returned so I'll have to give it to you the next time you come in." Ultimately she was only paid a day or two late each time, but the angering part was that it was clear they were lying to her every pay period with false excuses. For example her employer would claim they printed her check "yesterday" but couldn't find where they put it so they'd have to reprint a new one at home since they don't have any checks at work and give it to her tomorrow... then when tomorrow comes they would give her a pay stub which showed it was only generated that very day
when it should have been dated two days prior.. and I don't mean the print date, I mean the pay period even reflected it wasn't closed out until that day. In addition it wouldn't even be a check but a statement and they would pay her in cash.. which is odd.. the paystubs weren't consistent and had different appearances many times, they didn't always have a summary of hours worked which is required by law here, amongst other things.. A few times they didn't even provide a stub and just handed her cash... There were other events as well which made it clear they were lying to her... returned mail which they magically couldn't provide to her by hand..etc.. Personally the stubs look home-made and I don't even think they've been paying her payroll taxes.. but that we will find out.

She never made an issue of it because she's afraid of confrontation.. but it upset her... eventually she was laid off and told that they were very sorry to do it but they just can't afford her since they're having a hard time getting clients.. But if things get better they'll hire her back because they love her and how she is with the patients... well only a few weeks later, they call her up and ask her to come back just a few days a week and informed her she would be paid weekly from now on. She went back to work, but continued having problems getting paid on time with even more excuses... I pushed her and had her text her employer that she expects to get paid in full and on time with a pay stub each week, she was told that it was "no problem".

This week she was told they didn't need her to come in but they would mail her check so she'd have it in time for the weekend. The check never came (as we were assuming it wouldn't due to the games her boss has played in the past) so she texted her boss asking if she mailed the check and her boss didn't respond... She then texted the boss's daughter who is part owner of the company and asked her if the check was sent, she replied that it was. She texted her boss later on asking if the check was really sent because it would have arrived by now and she really needs her paycheck. Her boss clearly didn't like getting the pressured about the check because she responded that it will be here on Monday with her termination letter. She asked why she was getting terminated and she said "for performance reasons". Clearly this isn't due to performance... You don't get re-hired and told how great you are if you have performance issues... it was clear this was retaliation for standing up for her rights to get paid on time.

Clearly it's not your decision to make.

In any event, we replied back to her boss that her termination is clearly not performance related due to the fact that there have been no performance issues, she was just re-hired and told how wonderful she is with the patients, and we let her know that retaliation for standing up for an employee's legal rights and her employer's obligations is illegal and she will be filing a complaint with the department of labor.

That struck a nerve because her boss sent her a text storm with emotional outbursts which show she obviously isn't stable, and is now doing damage control to cover her ass. She replied that it was in fact due to performance issues because last Friday she abused two of the patients and had inappropriate outburst, and this will be stated in her termination letter that her attorney will be writing that she'll be receiving with her check on Monday and "that's why she didn't receive her check in the mail yet"

Now here are some facts:
1. She never abused any patients, and never had any outburst
2. She didn't even work last week, let alone last Friday
3. Her boss obviously lied about mailing her check (again) because now it's going to arrive on Monday with a letter that hasn't even been written yet
4. Her statement is 100% false and fabricated to cover her ass for the complaint my girlfriend is going to file with the dept of labor.
5. If her boss's statement was true, not only would she have been fired, there would have been a police report and family members would have had to be informed.
6. My GF has a voicemail saved from her boss telling her she doesn't need her to work this week, the tone and message make it clear that this is because business is slow.. not because she was fired or that there was an incident at work

The questions:

I think it's clear when you look at the timeline of events, the texts chasing her paycheck and stating she expects to get paid on time and her boss's response that this is clearly fabricated and an attempt to cover up her actions. What concerns me is that she's falsely accusing my girlfriend of doing something that is not only damaging to her reputation, but illegal and is FALSE. Who knows what her boss will say when jobs contact them for employment verification.. and she JUST had an interview with another company where it appears she's close to getting hired; an interview she had because of all the nonsense she was experiencing at her job trying to get paid amongst other things. How do you handle a situation like this?

The only thing that's clear to me is that both of you have a completely unrealistic idea of what is and is not illegal in the workplace. She needs to read this:

http://www.labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/laborstandards/workprot/payofwag.shtm

For the record, I'd have fired her too. The ONLY possible thing she has would be a defamation claim in the future.

 

[LdiJ]

Clearly it's not your decision to make.



The only thing that's clear to me is that both of you have a completely unrealistic idea of what is and is not illegal in the workplace. She needs to read this:

http://www.labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/laborstandards/workprot/payofwag.shtm

For the record, I'd have fired her too. The ONLY possible thing she has would be a defamation claim in the future.

Huh?...I don't understand the "I'd have fired her too" comment. All she did was try to get paid on time.

 

[Proserpina]

Huh?...I don't understand the "I'd have fired her too" comment. All she did was try to get paid on time.

The constant texting? Sorry, but while I understand she has a right to get paid on time, being that much of a pest is not going to endear her to any employer.

I will say, however, that this could be a really craptacular employer. It just doesn't help that being a day late results in so much angst. Seriously.

 

[commentator]

Your poor girlfriend! She's letting someone run her life and tell her what to do, demanding that she stand up for her supposed "rights!" and putting up with somebody who also appears to have an unhealthy interest in her paychecks!

No labor laws have been violated anywhere here. Even the stalling, the postponing, the putting off of the paying, as long as your girlfriend got paid at least minimum wage for the actual hours she worked, there is NO labor law that prohibits your employer from stalling the pay periods sometimes, or giving you excuses and paying you a day or two later than you expected. Absolutely no law anywhere that your employer can't lie to you about why the check is late, either.

And then the employer did the right thing, she told your girlfriend she didn't have the work for her and laid her off. Did your girlfriend sign up for unemployment benefits? She should have, it would have been based on any work for a covered employer that she'd done in the last 18 months. Then this employer called her back, saying they needed her and liked her work. Great for them. Great for her.

And then came another round of "my boyfriend is raising hell because I didn't get my check and he wants it so WE can spent it this weekend." At your behest, she hounded the employer and her family, demanding "where's my check?" The boss really really didn't like it, so she informed your girlfriend that she would have the check Monday morning along with her termination letter.

All the things you told her, about how you were going to contact the department of labor, and so on and so forth, I guess the employer was just as ignorant of labor laws as you guys were, and maybe yes, it did scare her, and maybe she did threaten to give bad information, but if you'd actually contacted them, they'd have told you no laws were broken. I'm sure when she speaks to her attorney, he'll tell the employer the same thing.

An employer in your at will state can fire an employee legally at any time for any reason they decide to do it. Your girlfriend, not you, would have the right to file for and appeal her unemployment benefits (if she has monetary eligibility for a claim) but no labor laws were broken.

Yes, they can fire her for performance. They can say just about anything they want to. Later on down the line if she found out FOR SURE that her former employer had given her a bad reference, and that has directly resulted in her not getting other jobs, and that it was based on untrue allegations, then there might be some faint chance of a defamation argument. But you know and I know that's not going to happen. YOU are making way too much of a big deal about the employer's false allegations.

If your girlfriend filed for unemployment, and the employer was contacted by them, she would legally be able to say just about anything as the reason for the termination. It would be hashed out in the appeals system and they'd go with the more believable of the two parties, assuming either or both of them might be lying.

But if as you say, she's already on the verge of getting another job maybe this is over . Hopefully they'll pay more regularly, and you won't have to be all over her day and night to "stand up for herself" and get that paycheck. I understand that you want to stand up for your girlfriend's rights when you think they've been violated, but in reality, you or your girlfriend do not have nearly as many rights in the labor force as you believe you do. And when you get hold of an employer who has trouble meeting the payroll, you need to find another employer, not hound them and hound them and try to make them do what you want until they want to run screaming from you and your demands.