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My former employer doesn't want to pay me for work I did

  • I'm in a sticky situation with my former employer and I was hoping someone would have a better idea about what I should do.

    Last summer I had an internship with this company and everything was great. They even made me a part time employee during the school year. So almost as soon as this past school year started, they assigned me to this project. To sum it up, they threw me in way over my head and it was a total project out of hell. It was my first real job in my career field and they had me running this entire project by myself. I didn't know what I was doing, the client didn't know what they wanted, etc.

    Nine months later, this project is about done but I was offered a new job at another company for this summer. There was only weekend work left on this project so when I quit I offered to finish that project for them despite me starting my new job. Then a couple weekends ago when it came time to complete this, I gave up my entire weekend and ended up putting over 50 hours into this project from Friday evening through Monday night. I literally did nothing but work and get 4 hours of sleep each night.

    When I reported my hours this week, my former employer sent me back an email saying how they didn't plan to pay me for the work I did because they didn't even bill the client because of how poorly the project went. The guy said he assumed when I offered to finish up the project I would be doing it for free. My ass I would offer to work for free when I could have been living up a summer weekend in East Lansing.

    I know I fucked up, but they can't do this, right? I want to be as civil as possible about this because I'm not looking to burn any bridges. What do I tell them?

    MSUManiac13 ●

  • I don't think you have much to stand on here. Just chalk it up as a lesson learned and move on.

    It may have seemed noble to finish up the project after you quit, but it's not something that is normally done. If you really wanted to complete the project, you should have finished it before your last day of work.

    This post was edited by BlakeStSpartan on 6/21/2012 at 8:49 PM

    BlakeStSpartan

  • Chalk it up as a lesson learned.

    Foxbat

  • MSUManiac13 said...

    my former employer sent me back an email saying how they didn't plan to pay me for the work I did because they didn't even bill the client because of how poorly the project went.

    You did a shitty job and expect to be paid for it?

    tVargMan Prime

  • Sounds like you didn't lay the groundwork. Usually you should say " I'll help you out consulting for a reasonable rate if you want me too after I quit." Then the ball's in their court on how much time they'll pay you for to finish up.

    This early in your career, their recommendation is probably more valuable than three days' pay. If you are hourly and keep your own time, it's fair to say that any former employee turning in 50 hours time for three days' work would be met with skepticism.

    Spartan86

  • Always have something in writing. Walk away and move on.

    The first thing my business professor told me, always have something on paper for any job. It gives you all the leverage.

    This post was edited by Spartan8Ball on 6/21/2012 at 9:13 PM

    signature image

    Spartan8Ball

  • MSUManiac13 said...

    I'm in a sticky situation with my former employer and I was hoping someone would have a better idea about what I should do.

    Last summer I had an internship with this company and everything was great. They even made me a part time employee during the school year. So almost as soon as this past school year started, they assigned me to this project. To sum it up, they threw me in way over my head and it was a total project out of hell. It was my first real job in my career field and they had me running this entire project by myself. I didn't know what I was doing, the client didn't know what they wanted, etc.

    Nine months later, this project is about done but I was offered a new job at another company for this summer. There was only weekend work left on this project so when I quit I offered to finish that project for them despite me starting my new job. Then a couple weekends ago when it came time to complete this, I gave up my entire weekend and ended up putting over 50 hours into this project from Friday evening through Monday night. I literally did nothing but work and get 4 hours of sleep each night.

    When I reported my hours this week, my former employer sent me back an email saying how they didn't plan to pay me for the work I did because they didn't even bill the client because of how poorly the project went. The guy said he assumed when I offered to finish up the project I would be doing it for free. My ass I would offer to work for free when I could have been living up a summer weekend in East Lansing.

    I know I fucked up, but they can't do this, right? I want to be as civil as possible about this because I'm not looking to burn any bridges. What do I tell them?

    It's a lesson learned. Business is business and when it comes to business there is little friendliness or courtesy, hence the phrase "it's not personal, just business." Try leaving a job and not being paid for the last week and a half of work you did. Happened to me. Full commission job and my former employer claimed that there were too many chargebacks AFTER I left which was complete BS.

    Don't assume that your boss is ever going to be kind to you, business isn't a charity. Also never take a full commission job (or one that promises to be salary for a set period of time and then full commission) unless you have a lot of capital.

    SagnastysFinest ●

  • Spartan8Ball said...

    Always have something in writing. Walk away and move on.

    THIS times one billion. Especially if the employer is a small business owner.

    SagnastysFinest ●

  • The law says you must be paid for the time you work. Whether they billed the client or not is irrelevant. Tell them this, & that you'll be filing a complaint with your state's department of labor, who will be interested in investigating whether or not this is a common practice of your former employer. They likely will not want that can of worms opened & will cut you a check pronto.

    Guinness makes you drop mud.

    Heat Miser

  • Heat Miser said...

    The law says you must be paid for the time you work. Whether they billed the client or not is irrelevant. Tell them this, & that you'll be filing a complaint with your state's department of labor, who will be interested in investigating whether or not this is a common practice of your former employer. They likely will not want that can of worms opened & will cut you a check pronto.

    So if I quit my job and I choose to continue doing work for them, they are still entitled to pay me? Sign me up.

    This is a ludicrous statement.

    BlakeStSpartan

  • Heat Miser said...

    The law says you must be paid for the time you work. Whether they billed the client or not is irrelevant. Tell them this, & that you'll be filing a complaint with your state's department of labor, who will be interested in investigating whether or not this is a common practice of your former employer. They likely will not want that can of worms opened & will cut you a check pronto.

    Smells like a burning bridge to me...

    Trevor Barnes

  • BlakeStSpartan said...

    So if I quit my job and I choose to continue doing work for them, they are still entitled to pay me? Sign me up.

    This is a ludicrous statement.

    As long as they don't take your stapler...

    Trevor Barnes

  • My question is did you tell him when you quit and that you would finish up the project that you would be willing to finish it WITH PAY? If not then you really don't have a case. Your employer could have legitimately believed that you wanted to finish the project on your own out of some sort of pride or accomplishment.

    SagnastysFinest ●

  • BlakeStSpartan said...

    So if I quit my job and I choose to continue doing work for them, they are still entitled to pay me? Sign me up.

    This is a ludicrous statement.

    Yes. It's not like he's Kramer & just showed up. They agreed for him to do the work. They have to pay & govt. agencies are very serious about enforcing this.

    Expecting someone to work long weekend hours without pay is what's ludicrous.

    Guinness makes you drop mud.

    Heat Miser

  • Trevor Barnes said...

    As long as they don't take your stapler...

    Burn it to the ground.... lol

    signature image

    Spartan8Ball

  • Trevor Barnes said...

    Smells like a burning bridge to me...

    The bridge is already burnt anyway, but if they give unfavorable references they're just opening themselves up to a lawsuit. If he feels he did subpar work he probably isn't gonna be listing them as a reference anyway.

    Plus he can say to future employers "they're pissed because they didn't want to pay me for hours worked & I made them. Sour grapes on their part."

    Don't let employers walk all over you.

    This post was edited by Heat Miser on 6/21/2012 at 9:22 PM

    Guinness makes you drop mud.

    Heat Miser

  • Foxbat said...

    Chalk it up as a lesson learned.

    This.

    An internship is not a contract.

    The Pantry ●

  • Talk with an attorney who does wage cases.

    SpartanBoiler ●

  • You didn't work for Kramerica industries, right?

    Is your name Darren? Did the ketchup/mustard idea work out?

    This post was edited by Spartan8Ball on 6/21/2012 at 9:24 PM

    signature image

    Spartan8Ball

  • BlakeStSpartan said...

    So if I quit my job and I choose to continue doing work for them, they are still entitled to pay me? Sign me up.

    This is a ludicrous statement.

    I offered to continue doing to the work and they took me up on the offer. I never would have thought I'd get screwed like this. All of this is in email so it's documented. It's over $900 they owe me.

    Honestly, the money isn't that big of a deal. I think the fact they're trying to take advantage of me bothers me the most. I'll admit they gave me a huge break in my career when they hired me. Overall I did some really good work for them. When I left I did everything I could to leave on a good foot. I told them multiple times how I enjoyed working there and how I would always speak highly of them. I even spoke with this same guy (who is also the CEO) who told me they weren't going to pay me and I told him how I was trying to send them some business at my new job because they use the platform we developed on.

    I'm honestly so torn on how I should react to this. I know I messed up, but I still can't help but feel I should be paid. At the least this is a huge learning experience.

    MSUManiac13 ●

  • OP offered to finish up the project, the employer accepted. Unless there was some discussion about it being free labor, then it's unreasonable for the expectation to be that the time was donated.

    As for getting recompense, not sure what steps to take. That their client thought it was going poorly is the company's problem, not yours. Don't threaten them, don't get all crazy, just tell that there was a misunderstanding and ask them how you can work it out.

    tRCMB's Top 5 Worst Posters Power Rankings: #1 Nucky, #2 The Doctor, #3 Brodson, #4 Ghost, #5 Blanch

    Vim ●

  • The Pantry said...

    This.

    An internship is not a contract.

    Did you read his post? The internship led to a paid PT position.

    Guinness makes you drop mud.

    Heat Miser

  • The Pantry said...

    This.

    An internship is not a contract.

    I had a contract but looking back on it, I think they may have ended it after I put in my two weeks notice. I should've taken the sign that my last paycheck was mailed to me rather than direct deposited since I was taken out of the payroll system.

    MSUManiac13 ●

  • Vim said...

    OP offered to finish up the project, the employer accepted. Unless there was some discussion about it being free labor, then it's unreasonable for the expectation to be that the time was donated.

    As for getting recompense, not sure what steps to take. That their client thought it was going poorly is the company's problem, not yours. Don't threaten them, don't get all crazy, just tell that there was a misunderstanding and ask them how you can work it out.

    This was my thought. I was still representing the company and using a company email address to interact with the client when I was doing the work.

    MSUManiac13 ●

  • People in this thread suggesting the OP should just chalk it up as a lesson learned and move on are part of the problem. An employer should never be able to get away with letting an employee work and then not paying them for the work. If he offered to complete the project and put in time on the project, he is entitled to pay for that time unless the employer specifically said that he wouldn't be paid. The burden is on the employer to inform the employee that he will not be paid for any future work.

    PRStoetzer

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