New job at the startup is going okay but I am going to keep looking outside of my field at some growing Chicago companies. Found one for a FMLA specialist, a bit of a change for me, but it's got a salary, benefits and nice hours. Looking to leave if we don't get paid for the hours we work over 40, which is actually happening...they say it's not illegal to not pay someone for any time worked over 40 hours (hourly wage if that makes a difference.)

 

Salaried employees are exempt from wage and hours laws. If it's hourly pay then they are breaking the law. That's why most hourly jobs require approval for overtime because they don't want to pay the additional money.

I wouldn't do that...then they'll just pay him his money and fire him and hire a bunch of unpaid "interns" instead.

 

You have to make a decision as to whether you think there is any kind of future with this company or not. If yes, then keep working hard. If not, get the hell out of there first chance you get.

 

They're already breaking the law and stealing money from him.

They're already breaking the law and stealing money from him.

Yeah, but you have to consider the real-life alternatives.

 

Is it better to get paid for the 40 hours a week he does work or be unemployed?

Wouldn't it be illegal to fire an employee who reported you to the NLRB/whoever handles that stuff for illegally withholding wages?

 

edit: like G&T said, it depends on your classification. If you're salary-exempt, you get paid a set wage regardless of hours worked. But it's not legal to classify anyone and everyone as salary-exempt.

Edited July 23, 201213 yr by StrangeSox

Wouldn't it be illegal to fire an employee who reported you to the NLRB/whoever handles that stuff for illegally withholding wages?

 

Whistleblower protection yes, especially if you report it to a federal agency.

 

I wouldn't do that...then they'll just pay him his money and fire him and hire a bunch of unpaid "interns" instead.

 

You have to make a decision as to whether you think there is any kind of future with this company or not. If yes, then keep working hard. If not, get the hell out of there first chance you get.

 

Reading the posts he has made about this place, they suck. They are screwing kids over by the boatload. They skip paychecks, they make mandatory OT, and they don't pay it.

 

They need to be reported.

Reading the posts he has made about this place, they suck. They are screwing kids over by the boatload. They skip paychecks, they make mandatory OT, and they don't pay it.

 

They need to be reported.

It's a startup company. This is what they do. Apparently they are just too dumb to deal with the HR part of things.

 

 

Cheat, lie and steal? f*** that, there's no future in an abusive company.

Whistleblower protection yes, especially if you report it to a federal agency.

Yeah, and we all know how well that usually works out.

 

I am sure there are a ton of whistleblowers that go on to have wonderful futures in the companies they reported...

It's a startup company. This is what they do. Apparently they are just too dumb to deal with the HR part of things.

 

Workplace protections are there for a reason. And it isn't just start ups. I had a multi-billion dollar company try that with me.

Cheat, lie and steal? f*** that, there's no future in an abusive company.

Oh come on now...don't you think that is being a little melodramatic?

Oh come on now...don't you think that is being a little melodramatic?

 

Honestly it is not. Read the posts he has made about this company. They have lied to him. They weren't paying him, and now they are cheating him out of OT.

Workplace protections are there for a reason. And it isn't just start ups. I had a multi-billion dollar company try that with me.

Yes, I understand. But this isn't Chrysler or something.

 

It is a fledgling startup company. Best case scenario for him is he goes through this process of reporting them, gets blackballed by everyone anyone in the company knows, and gets his check for $300 bucks. Yay!

 

Not worth it.

 

 

Honestly it is not. Read the posts he has made about this company. They have lied to him. They weren't paying him, and now they are cheating him out of OT.

I have...I am the one that stuck up for Ross when the initial reaction by folks on here was that he was whining again. I told him the way he was being treated was bs.

Best-case scenario is that the employers are sanctioned and fined and stop exploiting their employees.

Yes, I understand. But this isn't Chrysler or something.

 

It is a fledgling startup company. Best case scenario for him is he goes through this process of reporting them, gets blackballed by everyone anyone in the company knows, and gets his check for $300 bucks. Yay!

 

Not worth it.

 

And worst case he doesn't, the company closes down after stealing from many more kids desperate for work, who don't get paid in the end. Better to end it now, than down the road.

Yes, I understand. But this isn't Chrysler or something.

 

It is a fledgling startup company. Best case scenario for him is he goes through this process of reporting them, gets blackballed by everyone anyone in the company knows, and gets his check for $300 bucks. Yay!

 

Not worth it.

 

Best case is the assholes running a bad company stop running the company AND this guy gets his money owed plus any money he loses if he gets fired.

me, jenks and ss2k5 all on the same side?!

Ok, I recognize this is wrong of them, but I am just going to say I think you guys are taking this a bit more seriously than I think it warrants.

 

This stuff is going on all over the place. Look at the way law firms treat their clerks...hah, this is nothing compared to that.

Ok, I recognize this is wrong of them, but I am just going to say I think you guys are taking this a bit more seriously than I think it warrants.

 

This stuff is going on all over the place. Look at the way law firms treat their clerks...hah, this is nothing compared to that.

 

Not being paid market rate =/= not being paid at all.

Yeah, and we all know how well that usually works out.

 

I am sure there are a ton of whistleblowers that go on to have wonderful futures in the companies they reported...

Even the rallied upon Enron whistleblower went years without being hired. Luckily she can do speaking gigs, but the sad truth is, it is frowned upon. If you have a problem with the job, move on somewhere else. Start-ups operate in a different world and there is a whole new set of risk involved when you work for one.

 

All that said, you deserve to be paid. If the company still isn't making payroll, then things happen. That is a sign of a cast strapped start up. Maybe it makes it through, maybe it doesn't. It all depends on how much you believe in management and the product, etc. If you don't, run, run, run.

They shouldn't be operating in an extra-legal world.

Not being paid market rate =/= not being paid at all.

There are plenty of law clerks that don't get paid at all.

 

The legal field exploits the law students' need for experience by hiring them as unpaid interns or grossly underpaying them.

 

 

 

 

Even the rallied upon Enron whistleblower went years without being hired. Luckily she can do speaking gigs, but the sad truth is, it is frowned upon. If you have a problem with the job, move on somewhere else. Start-ups operate in a different world and there is a whole new set of risk involved when you work for one.

 

All that said, you deserve to be paid. If the company still isn't making payroll, then things happen. That is a sign of a cast strapped start up. Maybe it makes it through, maybe it doesn't. It all depends on how much you believe in management and the product, etc. If you don't, run, run, run.

 

Yes, I agree.

 

I worked for a startup for close to a year without making a dime. I did it because I did believe in the product, and I knew if it worked, I would be in a position I would never be able to just walk in to had it not been a startup company.

 

Unfortunately my gamble did not pay off.

 

But you live and you learn.

me, jenks and ss2k5 all on the same side?!

 

Someone check and see if the Cubs won the World Series... If so, cue Armageddon.