Q: Is the pay structure and employment status my company is using legal?
I work for a tile installation company. Several months ago my boss made me a “subcontractor”. He told me I needed no license or anything, I would be payed per job, and by the square foot when the jobs were completed. Since then he has flopped back and forth between hourly and by the job pay, I have gone weeks without pay on numerous occasions. I am not the only one who has had this issue. When approached over this I have been told continuously that “this is the way the job goes” and “some times it takes a month to get a payment, gotta learn to budget.” I feel I am financially trapped now because if I quit I do not believe he will pay me amounts owed as I know he has shorted other subs who have quit and has been open about it. He has also pressured me not to file taxes associated with his business, and to file independently. He refuses to give me any type of documentation for past pay despite my requests. I am new to this industry and feel I have been misled on how the process works.
A:
If everything you say is true about this horrible employer, you will help yourself greatly by looking for another better job...now.
Your fear of not being paid for some of the work you have already done is one of the ways this employer keeps you stuck where you are.
Warning: Your fear of losing some money if you quit is not nearly as bad as will be the fear you feel when you are called in and audited by the IRS for possible tax evasion.
Final advice: If you decide to resign from this terrible job do NOT confront this horrible employer.
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