Possibly suing my previous employer!

[eds1275]

So it comes to this!

   I'll take a long story and sum it up. I will not use the company's name, as much I would loooooove to smear it in poop.

   I worked for a company for 2 years, working "part time". As in I'd check my email at 7am to see if I had to work at 8. Some weeks I'd work 20 hours - some I'd work 70. I was told I'd be paid X number of dollars, and instead I was paid less and they kept making excuses and blaming the accountants and stuff. I worked in a fancy building where the sound guys were contracted out so even though I knew everyone in the office, they weren't with my company. The head office is on the other side of the province. Well on the last day of June I was told that I was being laid off - on July 2nd. July 1 is a holiday here in Canada. So I took my last day and was told that I would be called back in October.

   2 weeks later I get my Record of Employment stating that because there wasn't enough work available that I wouldn't be called back at all. Middle of September I run into one of the hot office ladies and she asks why I didn't take the job back - because that's how the story goes around the office apparently. They have since hired 4 part-timers to replace me.

   I gathered all my "evidence" [remember, I got emailed everything, and kept it all] and brought it to a lawyer today. I printed out Employment Standards Act and highlighted almost half of it and wrote down specific cases where the law had been broken. They say it looks good for me, but are going to look it all over more carefully in the coming days and get back to me. They say it's best to bring it all to the table first and try to "scare" a settlement out of court.

   You're probably thinking why did I keep this job when they treated me so poorly? Well the answer is simple - I enjoyed the work. The company was rotten to the core but the work was good. Anyway, wish me luck.
 

[amendonz]

Good luck sticking it to the man.

[HanoiBoi]

But what are you suing for?  Are you suing for possible work lost since they didn't ask you back?  Are you suing for defamation of character (them spreading word that you refused the job?)

They told you that they'd call you in October, but that's not a guarantee right?  Even if that was a case, October passed just 17 days ago.  That's just 13 weekdays away.  Are you thinking they owe you money for those days?  And if so, would that be for 20 hours per week, or are you thinking 70 hours per week?  I imagine the cost of a lawyer wouldn't even cover that.

I don't know all the details, but from what you've written I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have any kind of case here in the US.

Still, I wish you luck.

[eds1275]

I'm suing for the difference in pay [what they said I would be making VS what they actually paid], the severance I am owed [for terminating my employment with no notice], and some extra compensation for all the laws they broke as outlined in the employment standards act. In Canada it's illegal to tell an employee there's no work for them and then to hire replacements. Also, I know the place I used to work is extremely busy as they post their calendar online.

It's unfortunate to hear that where you live companies can get away with screwing over their employees. Or maybe it's just that most people don't stick up for themselves.

[AtomSmasher]

I can see making a case for not paying you the correct amount, although it seems really late for you to make a case for that since you've been working there for 2 years.  I've never heard of a part-time employee getting severance pay, in fact a lot (most?) jobs say in the employee handbook that even full time employees can be laid off at any time for any reason.

Did they hire the new employee's immediately after they laid you off, or were they actually low on work at the time they fired you and just lied about why they wouldn't hire you back?

From what you've written, it sounds like you're pissed off that the company gave you a bogus reason for not re-hiring you, so you're suing them for things you gave them a pass on previously.

[eds1275]

The lawyer thinks I have a case, I figure what the hell. Of course I am bitter about the pay thing, and their bogus reasoning, and I never did let up on hassling them for the money. The new employees were practically walking in as I was walking out. I actually know 3 out of 4 of them on a casual basis - student from the university in the drama classes with a basic knowledge of how the oudn equipment works.

I'll keep this updated as things roll out.

[SavannahLion]

I can see making a case for not paying you the correct amount, although it seems really late for you to make a case for that since you've been working there for 2 years.

I'm not sure what the statue of limitations (is there such a thing for something like this?) but I can tell you that if there is one, it most certainly is a lot longer than just two years. My fiance worked for a HUGE store chain over five years ago and she just now got a settlement from them as part of a class action lawsuit. It wasn't enough to by a pooper scooper because of the dick lawyer's cut, but it was related to something similar the OP is describing about pay.

I worked for two chains where lawsuits were brought to bear against the corporate office for nearly the same thing. Differences in pay. How the company went about it varied. One cut your pay by shaving (I got a check for $7. Yippie Kay Yay!), the other cut your pay by paying straight instead of time and a half for overtime and called it a salary.

[AtomSmasher]

I can see making a case for not paying you the correct amount, although it seems really late for you to make a case for that since you've been working there for 2 years.

I'm not sure what the statue of limitations (is there such a thing for something like this?) but I can tell you that if there is one, it most certainly is a lot longer than just two years. My fiance worked for a HUGE store chain over five years ago and she just now got a settlement from them as part of a class action lawsuit. It wasn't enough to by a pooper scooper because of the dick lawyer's cut, but it was related to something similar the OP is describing about pay.

I worked for two chains where lawsuits were brought to bear against the corporate office for nearly the same thing. Differences in pay. How the company went about it varied. One cut your pay by shaving (I got a check for $7. Yippie Kay Yay!), the other cut your pay by paying straight instead of time and a half for overtime and called it a salary.

I wasn't saying it was legally too late, I was saying it seems odd that he let it slide for two years, and all of the sudden he's now making a fuss over it.  I once got a pay check that didn't include time and a half for over time, I raised one hell of a fuss when I saw that and got the money added to my next paycheck.  Theres no way in hell I'd let that slide for two years, if they did that to me for more then a couple paychecks and just gave me BS when I tried to rectify it, then I'd be out the door pretty quick.

[RayB]

What province? I have a little bit of experience as to what to expect from the Ministry of Labour Ontario.

If you were on a salary, you will not get a dime. By accepting whatever they paid for the hours you put in you have effectively accepted a change to your "contract" and cannot retroactively claim you are owed anything more. The only exception would be if the amount were so low that it contravenes labour laws (ie: less than a living wage). This is how an arbitrator is likely to see it. You performed work X. You got paid amount Y. You accepted the payment. That changes the terms of your employment. End of story.

If you were hourly, then you're going to need all your timesheets and proof of hours worked. I'm not sure how you go about proving this or what outcome you can realistically expect.

Lastly if they had you as a "contractor" then that complicates things even further as it becomes more of a freelancer VS client situation which you have to sue for outside of the Ministry of Labour jurisdiction (but you gave me the impression you were clearly an "employee").

[eds1275]

I worked for a company that was contracted to provide the service at a location. This is in BC. I was paid hourly. I have all timesheets, emails [including plenty talking about "screw ups" in the office which said I would be paid the difference in wage,] emails sent to me asking if I could work in 20 minutes [yes, not phone calls - email]. Nonsense.

I was paid hourly. I have a meeting tomorrow morning with the lawyer, he says he has good news. I will post back when I hear what this news is. I know he/we have not contacted the employer yet [I went to the lawyer first because I wanted his opinion on whether this was worth pursuing or not - the consultation fee is affordable and unless this goes to court, which I am hoping to avoid, will stay affordable].

[shmokes]

Dunno the laws there, and these things vary a lot, but statutes of limitations in New York range between 1 and 6 years (and 20 years to collect on judgements).  If I punch you in the face you have a year to sue me for damages.  If I owe you money or you want to sue for breach of contract you have 6 years to do so.  A bunch of other, like damage to property, are 3 years.

At any rate, the statute has surely not run in this case or the lawyer would have told you right away.

[Rick]

I have a meeting tomorrow morning with the lawyer, he says he has good news.

I wish you all the luck possible.  I've dealt with two different types of Lawyers in my life.  To the first type, "I have good news" means "come to my office, so I can tell you why my plan will work, and so that I can charge you for the hour you're hear listening to me talk."  To the second type, it would mean, "I have received a response to our letter, stating that they are prepared to offer you [X] in exchange for you not taking this further".  The second type is the Lawyer I have kept for the past ten years.  The first one lost me about $100K, because of bad advice.

Again, good luck to you.  You can never have enough of that.

[eds1275]

Well, here's the update. The good news that the lawyer had was that he reviewed the emails and paperwork that I sent him, packaged it all up with a letter on the front and had me look it over for approval. We shipped it off that day, and I got a phone call on Wednesday from my employer who said that they had recieved the package and were going to look it over. It wasn't worth drudging up this thread for an update at that point. I had an email in my inbox when I woke up this morning saying that they agreed to pay me off and save everyone some time in court. They will be sending me a cheque out in the mail!

I feel relieved in 2 ways: 1, because I am 100% self employed since I lost that job, and my business hasn't really taken off yet, money is a bit tight. 2, by paying me off it's pretty much IMO them admitting that they were wrong. They may see it otherwise, thinking I'm just a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- starter, but I'll just keep thinking they may have come around. They have other employees in similar situations as I was, I wish them the best.

[Samstag]

They may do things differently in Canada, but in the US that check would show up with a letter stating that they admit to no wrongdoing.  Then they would continue to screw over your former colleagues.

The above is not sarcasm.