uh oh, will we get our paychecks??

[zahncrelnik]

Bad things.
The company I work for has been struggling for a while now.
But last week someone they owed money to got a court
order and drained one of the bank accounts. Now there
is no money for payroll (today is supposed to be pay day).
The company owner is in the hospital (out of state)
for tests - for the week. (he has myasthenia gravis)

It is a tough place to be. I like the job very much. The
rules of the workplace are very reasonable. Two weeks
paid vacation and 10 sick days a year. Excellent health
insurance, dental insurance! Casual dress code.
Open break time, lunch whenever you want to have lunch.
They are very reasonable about leaving for doctor, dentist,
any good reason. The only thing that would make it absolutely
perfect is if the salary were higher.
Oh, yeah and if only the company were solvent.....

[kymom5613]

ugh, sending prayers your way...Hope everything works out!
(I've had paychecks bounce before - not fun)

[trinamick]

That sucks! Here's hoping they find a way to pay you and give you a raise! :hug:

[I-am-so-Johns-girl]

Bummer. :( I don't think it would hurt for you to just take a look around for another job..."just in case". :rolleyes:

Hope you get paid soon. :aok:

[zahncrelnik]

Thanks you guys, your good thoughts mean a lot!!

My boss just called to say that they can only issue a partial paycheck
to us today. We are to work it out with accounting - hahaha, there
is almost no money in the accounts to work with!! My fellow employees
are lucky, I will take a lower amount -I just refinanced my mortgage, so
I have money to pay my bills for now.

And, yes, I-am-so-Johns-girl, I will be calling the agencies that I have
worked with in the past and see what kind of jobs are out there.

[zahncrelnik]

Well, now it's Wednesday and we still have not gotten the rest of the paychecks.
And things are getting worse. Checks are bouncing all over the place, our copier
needs toner, we cannot get in to the storage unit (where we keep older files) because
the monthly rent check bounced. The boss is still in a hospital, out of state, for tests...
It goes on and on.

The odd thing is that some of us are not that worried. :shrug:
It isn't like we don't need steady paychecks, but we don't really
have someplace else to go. I, for one, would need a lot of time
for job-hunting -and I would need to be available for interviews
between 9 & 5, which just is not do-able unless I quit my job.
I can't just quit without having a new job waiting- who can.
But, I work 35 miles from home, it's a long commute in the first
place without having to be running around on interviews all the time.

[Vampgrrl]

Don't work for free! Once they go out of business or declare bankruptcy you wont ever get that money back.

[eta_carinae]

oh wow. I don't know what to say :hug: Just make sure you're looking out for yourself first!

[ctheokas]

Good luck. Sending good thoughts your way. Don't want to see another face in the unemployment line.

[StephX]

:hugz:

[kymom5613]

Any updates???
I've been thinking about you (& praying for you!!!)
:hugz:

[zahncrelnik]

Any updates???
I've been thinking about you (& praying for you!!!)
:hugz:
Thank you, kymom5613 and everyone else, for your good thoughts!!

My boss returned to work on Thursday, May 19. He had been at
the Mayo clinic in Minnesota, just for tests and a general review
of his condition. (We all think it was more for the research into
myasthenia gravas, and anything they did for him was just
incidental. Isn't that sad. But, if it means that they learn more
about the disease and can help others better...)

Anyway, the company received no checks, no income, until
that Friday. So, the boss wrote everyone checks (and what came in
was just enough...)and we got the rest of the pay that was due to us.

There are real problems. One company that ours owed money to
got a court order and just seized the funds right out of the bank account.
Other checks bounced and now a lot of payments on loans have been
accelerated, there are summons to appear in court. It is a real mess.

One lesson to be learned here is that sometimes you just need to talk to
your debtors. If you owe them money they just want to know that you
are still around--that you have not run off and abandoned your debts.
Our boss is a great procrastinator and doesn't call people back and, worse,
doesn't answer the phone if he thinks it is a collection call. If he would
just talk to the debtors, they would be slower to go to court.

Anyway, I guess 3 of us who are full-time are procrastinators too. We
are all still here and no money has been coming in and we all know it.
So, here we are almost 2 weeks out from the last pay day and 4 weeks
from the last time we ended a period. (i.e. we have been working for
4 weeks that we may not get paid for... We get paid twice a month and it is 2 weeks behind.)

But, it's not like I can just go work someplace else; I would have to take
a major pay reduction to get into the same type of position. Also, I have
been working over an hour from home for 2 years, and I really don't want
to take another position that far or further away. I want to work a bit
closer to home, say 1/2 hour. There aren't a lot of jobs that I am qualified
for, and I would have to buy a whole new wardrobe-we wear jeans and
golf shirts here.
I do have a lot of qualifications, but that does not always make it easy to
find a new job. For instance, I do clerical work, I am classified as an
Administrative Assistant, but I don't really do that kind of a job.

I do a lot of computer work, scanning, data entry, document creation.
I read maps and aerial photos and scan the appropriate locations, you
have to have the ability to look at an aerial photo and see where the
area is located (if you can't visualize it the job is more difficult to do).
There is customer contact, usually to take job orders.
I take care of the files, maintain databases of file information and keep
all files archived on a computer. Set up job files, organize, archive and
back-up file information. That is just at this company. I have done a lot
of other work previous to this, all kinds of office work and shipping and
receiving, also I was assistant manager at a bookstore for 7 years back
in the 1980's.
A lot of qualifications. The problem is that most agencies
want to 'pigeon hole' you and I fit in too many places and still have a hard
time finding a job.

So, here we are: procrastinators all. Just hanging around, waiting to see
what happens next. No real solid promise of getting paid.
Maybe we are risk-takers? I don't know.
I do have my resume on CareerBuilder.com.

(Wow, that is a long post. You asked kymom...)

[AgentSun]

maybe it's a wake up call to have more experience, more training...if you expand what you are qualified for, it expands your opportunities for different jobs.

[MotorWerk]

I hope everything works out, both for you and your company. Not getting your salary is probably the worst thing that can happen... there are always bills to be paid.

In Norway, if a company has to close down the state guarantee that the employers get their salary from a goverment salary-fund. You don't have this in the US?

[AgentSun]

we have unemployment. but she's not unemployed right now and the company is in a weird transition state....i believe you can only collect unemployment pay if you were fired, not if you resign.

[MotorWerk]

What I meant is that if your company closes down and is not able to pay salary for, say, a month or two, you get it from the state. After that you get unemployment pay. You also get unemploymen pay if you get fired or decide to quit.

[zahncrelnik]

we have unemployment. but she's not unemployed right now and the company is in a weird transition state....i believe you can only collect unemployment pay if you were fired, not if you resign.

It depends on your boss, if they don't protest or contest the unemployment filing, then
you can collect. I had a job where they asked me to give them
a letter of resignation (it was a mutual agreement to part) and they wouldn't
contest the unemployment. I found a job within a couple weeks that time.
A different time I worked in an office in a private home and was fired and
the boss contested the unemployment filing and said that I did all kinds of
things and stormed out in a fit of anger -she made sure to have some
friends there to see me leave -I was not angry at all just leaving fast -
but I was unable to collect unemployment because of her lies and her
friends backing her up. (This person was paranoid-schizophrenic -the
stories I could tell you about that job....) But, I digress...

At this current job, I do not think the boss would contest the unemployment,
but I don't want to quit without knowing that there is a job waiting for me.

[arthurfrdent]

mmm... sorry to hear of the rock-you-hardplace thing, but you should really start taking those sick days to find a job... They are free in essence, and you will loose them later if you get shut down... but you will still be owed backpay, if they get solvent again. Be proactive! [ewww hate that word]

You are a very loyal person, but you must remember to be loyal to yourself and your responsibilities first...

best of luck ;) AFD

[zahncrelnik]

well, um, I kind of used half already.... Grandma was in the hospital (she is ok now).

and, well, I am already going on a trip, using more vacation days,
someone else is paying for airfare, ;) hotel, and most of everything else...

so, I won't really have any paid days off left for job search..... :(

[Mrelia]

Not to be too terribly nosy, but roughly where are you and what kind of business were you working for? Maybe someone here will have some ideas for you.

[zahncrelnik]

Hi everybody!!
I am back from my fabulous Hawaiian vacation!!
It was great, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, The Big Island, Kona,
Hilo, the Waipi'o Valley on horseback, Volcanoes National
Park, the ocean, the submarine ride. All great fun!

BUT, my first morning back at work and I am let go.

The company is not doing so well and they will save
by not having to pay my salary for a full-time employee.
So, now I will be scrambling to find work fast so I can
try to keep health insurance and my house.

I do not have Internet at home, I would need a new
computer for that. So, I will be in touch when I can...
Love you all, zahncrelnik


--in answer to Mrelia's question:
I have been working (for the past 2+ years) for a company
that does Environmental Site Assessments called Phase 1's.
My job was to set up and fax a job proposal or contract and
identify the site location. I find the site on a map and then
go and find aerial photos of the site and scan them into the
computer. Set up for job and job files, take care of the file storage,
a lot of computer work, a lot of clerical work.
I have had several jobs and I have a lot of abilities:
- all kinds of computer work: word processing, spreadsheets, databases
- shipping and receiving
- various clerical or secretarial duties or administrative
My abilities are wide and varied, it is difficult to define.

[jagwriter78]

:hug: I am so sorry to hear that zahncrelnik. I hope everything will work out for the best for you!