Question
I am a fan and am so glad I’ve followed your advice to not do an exit interview. I started working at a medical start-up two years ago as a nurse. I loved the job and the team and felt passionate about the work I was doing. Then the medical director lost the office manager and mismanaged things to the point that pay checks have been erratic. We are behind seven pay checks from last year and a handful from this year. The team is leaving and now it’s unsafe with the skeleton crew.
I have secured another job. Part of me feels that, as the only nurse, I have to give a good chunk of notice. One month is professional notice in my field. But, seeing as I haven’t been paid and it’s unlikely I’ll recoup any of the money owed to me once I leave without legal action, I don’t want to lose any more pay. The longer I stay, the more liability I hold. How much notice would you recommend that I give in this type of situation? Thank you in advance.
Nick’s Reply
I don’t normally reply to questions by e-mail, but I’m making an exception because I’ve got a soft spot for nurses (you’re more important to patients than doctors!) and your problem is an emergency. I also have a thing about employers who don’t meet payroll.
Paying employees is not optional
Your employer may already be in a lot of trouble. You will find some good resources at Workplace Fairness. Here is one useful tip from that website:
“Many states have laws that require employers to pay employees for all hours worked, and which require employers to pay employees at regular intervals, such as biweekly or semimonthly. These laws may impose penalties on employers who do not comply with the law, and may even provide for criminal prosecution.”
Please: Contact your state’s department of labor and employment immediately for guidance.
If employer hasn’t paid, see a lawyer
Given how much you are owed, you might want to consult a good labor attorney to protect your interests. An initial consultation need not cost much if anything. For a few extra bucks, the lawyer could write a demand letter and get you paid before the employer gets sued by creditors.
You must use your own judgment (and legal advice if you pursue it), but if I were owed seven paychecks, I’d be gone with a simple notice that I am resigning effective immediately because I have not been paid. I would not work one more hour. (See Giving notice when you resign: 6 ways to avoid trouble.) But first, check with your state’s labor office and/or a lawyer. You are being taken advantage of and that’s unforgivable.
Please let me know how this turns out. I admire your dedication and integrity — but don’t be played for a fool by an unscrupulous employer. You’re not being unprofessional; they are!
For more about how to leave a job, please see Parting Company: How to leave your job. I’m glad my advice about exit interviews proved helpful to you!
Reader’s Follow-up
Thank you for the response. It really helped to give me courage to get the heck out of there. I gave two weeks’ notice which I know I did not owe them. I felt some loyalty to some of our repeat patients. But I ended up not working all of my notice and e-mailing that I was no longer coming in and that I wouldn’t let my investment in my patients be leveraged against me to put my license and pay at risk.
Other employees and I have reported the owner to the labor board and legal action has started. I’m currently enjoying a stress-free two weeks before starting a more stable job. Thank you!
Dear Readers: Has your employer ever withheld your pay? What did you do about it? Does this reader owe any notice to the employer?
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Great advice. I work for the Dept. of Labor & Training in my state. We have a special unit which does just what you described – force slack-off employers to obey the law and pay people for the work they do. Wish more blue collar employees and immigrant employees knew about it.
@Andrew: Thanks for that dose of reality!
I’m constantly surprised how often people blame themselves for the wrongs employers do them. I think it’s got something to do with a belief that the employer owns the job and deigns to let you do it… You’re worried about getting paid??? How unreasonable!
Given the follow-up part of the story, clearly this reader was disabused of the idea that they owe the firm more work “for the sake of the patients.” The reader quickly woke up to reality: They were abusing the employee.
This is also another example of the not-so-subtle advice job seekers are given about pay: Never imply you are concerned with pay. I’ve heard HR managers say to job candidates things like, “You’re clearly more concerned about the salary than about working at our company and about the job! If money comes first for you, you’re NOT who we’re looking for!”
Then there’s this advice from career “counselors”: “NEVER make it seem money is an issue to you! Wait til after they make you an offer! Avoid talking about money as long as you can!”
And so on. The employment system subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) programs job seekers to downplay compensation.
My advice: Ask up front how much they’re going to pay and let them know how much you’re looking for. Nobody works free — including HR and the hiring manager — so let’s stop playing that game. Or you wind up like this reader, who went way too long without pay in order to “be professional.”
Interesting topic this time. This person has way more faith in employers than most of the working stiffs.
I had this happen to me in CA once, ended up bringing in CARB which brought the labor board with them, I got paid, had to leave a month later due to retaliation.
Now I have one rule, I give the employer 1 chance if they miss payroll to either have a good explanation of why, prove that it was not their fault (ADP had a system malfunction) and exactly when I can expect my money.
If any of this is not to my satisfaction ( legal )
Then I am gone that day.
This is one of the rules of life you just don’t violate.
Messing with peoples money is a sure way to be sued, loose any reputation, and quite possibly your life.
If I were this nurse I would seek legal action.
@Dennis: Looks like that’s exactly what the nurse and other employees did!
Dennis, thanks for this. Not to dredge up bad memories but would you be willing to share how the employer expressed this retaliation? Passive-aggressively, I’m guessing.
It was not even hidden.
His excuse was the customer had not paid so I did not.
Under CA law at that time, (it may be nationwide now) once a mechanic, plumber, etc is done with the job then the employer is to pay them for the job. What this guy was doing was making his employees insure his losses by not paying until the customer paid.
When asked he told you outright that you don’t get paid until the job is “closed”.
The labor laws can be your friend, they are equally your enemy. Once you open this box, be ready to justify it for a very long time. This incident cost me a roll with a manufacturer.
Nick’s advice to contact an employment lawyer is spot on. Some states’ laws often called “wage theft” laws allow triple damages and you can sue individuals such as officers and directors of the company too. Massachusetts is one such state. Also, if you have 401k plan deductions from your paycheck, check to see if they are getting deposited in a timely basis. If not, you can file a complaint with the federal department of labor that is if anyone works there anymore.
I’ll second the advice on checking 401k contributions. My wife worked for a small employer. When she was first hired she was not eligible for the 401k because she was part time. The employer then included part time employees in the 401k. We signed up immediately. The end of the quarter comes, no statement (this is back before everything was online). Next quarter comes and there is only 1 deposit (from her first eligible paycheck). I start keeping track of the amounts and deposits. I also contacted the person in charge in a way she could not tell who was checking in (she was very vindictive). Finally I had enough of it and contacted the Pension Guarantee arm of the Dept of Labor (wrote a letter to the Secretary of Dept of Labor). That got things straightened out. I was told by the govt rep of the of the civil and criminal penalties should it happen again. Guess what, 3 months later the games began again. I contacted the govt rep whom I spoke to at the end of the previous episode. This time they came into the company again. Brought the IRS since they were playing loose with that money as well. Made the company disband the 401k (everyone rolled it into IRAs) and could never have one again.
Sorry for the length but the system does work especially when you have dates and amounts like I had.
This hits close to home. I had a client who was a practicing doctor, running a cardiac monitoring company. As I was installing the new computer system, several workers asked me pointedly “How much does this equipment cost?” I finally asked one of them why everybody was so curious and was told they hadn’t been paid in over a month. You have to remember that it’s not just the workers not getting paid. If you’re not making payroll, your not paying payroll taxes either. At some point, the IRS showed up at the office and escorted the doctor out. When that happens, it’s enough to get the attention of the state medical board and have them sanction a medical license for 6 months. I just had to look the guy up and his license is still on probation 6 years after the tax incident. The license authority also frowns on practicing medicine and prescribing controlled substances with a suspended license.
Every one of the people working in that office were staying because they felt some sort of responsibility to the patients. I’ll never understand how you can do a job, not get paid and feel that you are still obligated to work there.
The OP should make sure his employment lawyer has a working knowledge of bankruptcy law.
After some experience myself, if the check doesn’t appear, or bounces, there will be notice. You’ll notice I’m gone