Work Problem / Boss doing illegal things

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HoboNinja

HoboNinja

Ok so basically here is the whole situation.

We are doing bad financially so my boss is firing the 2 other employees and keeping me on because I basically run the place, but hes hiring people that will work for game time(we are a lan center) so basically yeah illegal shit... hiring people to work for free essentially.

But yeah he flipped shit today and basically said I need to quit smoking or im fired, he said I can't smoke on my shift so I said I would take my legally allowed break because I work 6 or 8 hour shifts. The thing is I don't get a break, there is always one employee working at a time, thats also illegal. So he said he would just change them to 4 hour shifts so I don't get one and I was like whatever fine. Then like 30 mins later he changes his mind and basically said if I don't quit smoking in 2 week im fired. Which is also illegal, he can't make me quit smoking. Ok so then he is like well if you decide to not quit then you can find another job or collect unemployment, but then he goes and says but well in those 2 weeks I could just make a lot of write ups for you so that you can't get unemployment.


So basically who do I call? The better business bureau or unemployment or what? Hes hiring people to work for free, not giving legally required breaks, firing me for smoking, and making fraudulent write ups to try and keep me from collecting unemployment if I can't find a new job.

Edit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comme ... ings_need/

Also put it on reddit in case someone there is like a lawyer.
 

Call in sick one day.

Edit: Also, he has created a hostile work environment for sure which means that if he fires you, you can likely sue him for wrongful termination. Among other things.
 
HoboNinja

HoboNinja

Ok so I just looked up some shit, apparently Iowa doesn't have any laws requiring breaks... so that is out. the firing for smoking would work if im on the clock so no more smoking while working but he said I can't smoke even if I come in to play so idk... I guess thats still alright because he has the right to refuse service.

But the hiring people for no pay I can get him on.
 
R

Rubicon

General Specific said:
Call in sick one day.

Edit: Also, he has created a hostile work environment for sure which means that if he fires you, you can likely sue him for wrongful termination. Among other things.
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Depends on where he lives.

My state is an "At Will" state, meaning any employer can fire you at any time for any reason they choose. Don't matter if you've worked there 3 days or 3 decades.

PLUS, employers can get around the smoking thing;

A) They can say it's illegal to smoke on their property, which is their right. So the person would have to vacant the property to smoke then come back. Depending on the size of said property and the time you might get for a break, you might not have enough time to go and come back on foot, maybe in a car but again not always applicable.

B) If you "smell" like smoke. A family member does patient accounting for a big local hospital. Not only did they pull the above no-smoking-on-premises but they also say if you smell like smoke, which alot of smokers do trust me (I am one myself) they can say that's a violation of your typical personal hygiene rules every company enforces.

The two of them compound each other as well. If you have to leave the grounds to smoke, typically you're going to get in a vehicle, drive down the road a little, stop, smoke, drive back. Not even counting a break of something as little as ten minutes, sitting in a car is just going to make you smell like smoke even more since you probably already smoke in your car. (windows down helps some but still..)

It sucks, yes. But it really depends on his local laws. Used to be you had to worry about smoking indoors as more places stopped allowing it, now places don't even want you smoking outside.
 
HoboNinja

HoboNinja

Yeah I am relatively sure I am an at-will employee, can I still collect unemployment if I am? I usually am working full time... like 32 hours + but not always...
 
R

Rubicon

HoboNinja said:
Yeah I am relatively sure I am an at-will employee, can I still collect unemployment if I am? I usually am working full time... like 32 hours + but not always...
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Yes even at-will gets un-employment.

we just have shit for job security.

I'd seriously look into officially finding out if your state is at-will or not. If not, you got not just a leg to stand on but an entire tables worth. if not..you're hosed, sorry.
 
HoboNinja

HoboNinja

It's not totally at-will but you can be hired at-will and I am 98% sure I was.

Can he stop me from getting unemployment by giving me bad write-ups?
 
Espy

Espy

HoboNinja said:
Can he stop me from getting unemployment by giving me bad write-ups?
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Usually yes.

I had a HORRIBLE employee, I posted about it a long time ago on here, who was fired.
She tried to get unemployment.
I proved that she was a horrible employee with paperwork and co-worker testimony.
She never got a dime from me.
 
Gared

Gared

There may not be any laws in Iowa mandating breaks for certain shift lengths, but there may very well be some federal laws, look into them before you count anything out. Check OSHA and the Department of Labor and Industries. As far as smoking goes, I wouldn't push it until you find out about applicable break laws. Then, if you are legally guaranteed a break and want to smoke, and if your LAN center is fronted by a road, stand on the edge of the road and smoke (off the sidewalk if it's safe), that's city property.
 
HoboNinja

HoboNinja

Looked at the FLSA and nope no federal breaks.

I need to figure out a way to get out of this good. If I piss him off and get fired that may fuck me over when I try to apply for new jobs and also protest my unemployment. If I quit I can't collect unemployment if I can't find a new job.


He also for awhile paid me and other employees less than minimum wage, he makes so little a year he has an exemption but I wonder if there is a even a minimum for that exemption because my buddy Jeff was only getting $6 an hour.
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

Just go find another job. It's a shit job. It won't likely do you any good stirring up trouble. It sounds like a sinking ship anyway.
 
HoboNinja

HoboNinja

I have been passively looking for about a year, like throwing in an app at cool places that are hiring with no luck and actively looking for like 2 weeks... like going anywhere and everywhere and handing in applications. No luck yet but hopefully soon.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Labor laws in your country make me weep. Other than that, I've got nothing.

But seriously, no allowed breaks, immediate termination, previous employees who can keep down your unemployment...*sigh* Chinese manual labourers get better conditions :-P
 
C

Chazwozel

HoboNinja said:
Ok so basically here is the whole situation.

We are doing bad financially so my boss is firing the 2 other employees and keeping me on because I basically run the place, but hes hiring people that will work for game time(we are a lan center) so basically yeah illegal poop... hiring people to work for free essentially.

But yeah he flipped poop today and basically said I need to quit smoking or im fired, he said I can't smoke on my shift so I said I would take my legally allowed break because I work 6 or 8 hour shifts. The thing is I don't get a break, there is always one employee working at a time, thats also illegal. So he said he would just change them to 4 hour shifts so I don't get one and I was like whatever fine. Then like 30 mins later he changes his mind and basically said if I don't quit smoking in 2 week im fired. Which is also illegal, he can't make me quit smoking. Ok so then he is like well if you decide to not quit then you can find another job or collect unemployment, but then he goes and says but well in those 2 weeks I could just make a lot of write ups for you so that you can't get unemployment.


So basically who do I call? The better business bureau or unemployment or what? Hes hiring people to work for free, not giving legally required breaks, firing me for smoking, and making fraudulent write ups to try and keep me from collecting unemployment if I can't find a new job.

Edit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comme ... ings_need/

Also put it on reddit in case someone there is like a lawyer.
Click to expand...

I don't think working for lan time is illegal. Comic book stores pay some of their employees in comic books... It's not like he's forcing them to work for lan time. That's the agreement they came to. As for smoking. It's his place. It's part of your working conditions. I'm not allowed to wear shorts and sandals to work. So technically, I'm being forced to wearing a specific wardrobe. As far as breaks are concerned...are you full time hire, or part time. That makes a big difference. You could be part time hired and still work 39.9 hours a week. In that case, benefits and break times go out the window.

Like was mentioned earlier, it's a shit job. Don't go expecting any sort of democratic solution at a shit job. It's your bosses way or the highway.
 
C

Chazwozel

Well the one thing he needs to remember is that no matter what the outcome, your boss is going to come out on top and you're going to get fucked over. The best thing to do is to do what he says if you want to keep the job.
 
Tiger Tsang

Tiger Tsang

[/lurk]

Trading play time for labor . . .
Paying less than minimum wage . . .

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/

Look through there, and tell those folks he paid less than minimum wage and/or other shenanigans about it too.

And if he's 'threatening' you with various things to fire/write you with, you should start carrying around a nice discreet voice recorder.

[lurk]
 
strawman

strawman

First and foremost - document EVERYTHING. Time and date, conversation, etc.

1) Your tone suggests that you are not willing to do this, but you might seriously consider quitting smoking just to annoy him. Document this and then you can show the employment board that you met his conditions and he still fired you for spurious reasons and you should be eligible for unemployment. You can always start smoking again later, or smoke occasionally outside of work since it's unlikely that he'll pay for testing - the question you might consider asking yourself, "Is smoking more important to me, personally, than my job." Keep in mind that it may be easier to get other jobs later if you rarely smoke, and you may be able to obtain cheaper health insurance, so it's probably worth considering.

2) Your state's attorney general is usually in charge of enforcing employment laws. Draft a letter indicating
* Previous occasions of lower than minimum wage laws
* Current threats and conditions
* Current employment of 'barter' labor without proper 1099 or w-4 forms (ie, even though bartering for services is ok, he still has to pay taxes and follow normal employment laws such as minimum wage)
Send a certified copy to the attorney general AND your boss at the business address. Make sure he understands that you are making a complaint against the business, and if they don't correct the conditions he will face more than simple repercussions.

3) The business is failing. Aggressively job hunt RIGHT NOW regardless of whatever else is happening. If he fires you, then you can fight for unemployment insurance, but either way you need to start getting out of there right now. Spend at least 1-2 hours every day looking for a new job - don't wait for him to fire you, and don't wait to see if you get unemployment. Especially don't wait to see the business fail - new employers will shy away from employees that hung on until the end believing either they weren't very good employees and couldn't keep it afloat, or they aren't proactive in noticing the signs of imminent failure and thus aren't observant or aggressive.

4) Don't bad mouth him to your prospective new employers. They won't hire someone who bad mouths current or previous employers, because eventually they too will be current or previous employers. "My career path didn't align very well with the opportunities at my current/previous job." No need to go into details at all, focus on why it wasn't a good opportunity for you, not why you were forced/squeezed out, or that it was a bad environment, and especially not about possible illegal practices.

Good luck!

-Adam
 
C

Chazwozel

Tiger Tsang said:
[/lurk]

Trading play time for labor . . .
Paying less than minimum wage . . .

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/

Look through there, and tell those folks he paid less than minimum wage and/or other shenanigans about it too.

And if he's 'threatening' you with various things to fire/write you with, you should start carrying around a nice discreet voice recorder.

[lurk]
Click to expand...
Except he's if he's not forcing them to take play time as pay and instead offered the employees to trade play time for their wages as opposed to paying full minimum wage. He probably pays them minimum wage and just deducts the play time from their paycheck. 100% legal. Companies do this all the time.

This is why you can get shit-canned for nosing about other people's salary arrangements.

As to the smoking. He can absolutely fire someone for being a smoker. There is no right to smoke. It's not in the constitution under your unalienable rights. I have to wear closed toed shoes to work. If I wear sandals, I get fired. Companies set their own policies and YOU as an employee abide by them.

As far as the shifts go. In PA, you get 15 minutes for every 4 hours worked on the clock. That equals 30 minutes payed time for 8 hours. If you're on the clock you have to do what your boss says.

It sounds to me like Hobo mouthed off to his boss over the smoking on shifts issue, and the boss pretty much said, 'fuck you, I'm not taking your insolent shit, and if you don't do what I say you're fired.' See my sentence on smoking rights. Essentially you have NO smoking rights.
 
klew

klew

Chazwozel said:
As to the smoking. He can absolutely fire someone for being a smoker. There is no right to smoke. It's not in the constitution under your unalienable rights. I have to wear closed toed shoes to work. If I wear sandals, I get fired. Companies set their own policies and YOU as an employee abide by them.
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Surely you were told before you were hired (or you already knew) that you had to follow lab safety protocol, which includes closed-toed shoes.

Hobo, were you told before you were hired that you had to quit smoking as a condition of continued employment? Did the person in charge of hiring know you were a smoker? If it happened after you were hired, that could be considered a change in the contract, though I wouldn't know how to proceed next.
 
strawman

strawman

klew said:
that could be considered a change in the contract
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If they change the contract, and then fire you for violating the contract, you may still be eligible for unemployment. It's no different than them reducing your salary and then firing you if you refuse to accept the salary change - unilateral contract changes mean they fire you, not you quit.

-Adam
 
HoboNinja

HoboNinja

It's a lot more than just that Chaz, he has been being a total and utter dick lately and I know for a fact he fucked over two former employees when they tried to file for unemployment. The man is a crooked asshole, but everything he does seems to be legal.


Yeah we had a meeting today, I said fine I won't smoke at work. But now he has expanded it to, if I come in to play off-shift, I can't smoke, even if I stand the legal 15 feet from the building. That seems like bullshit to me. He also talked about cutting my pay since he can't afford it so I just will refuse to accept the lower pay.

The only thing about smoking in our original contract was that we can't smoke in the store, which is already illegal because the Iowa Clean Air Act. But he is changing it so we can't smoke at all while working or at the store off shift, I am not going to sign it. Whatever I am pretty sure I can get a better lawyer than his ass if he wants to try to fuck me on unemployment. He is broke as shit and my step-mom is a doctor making $250,000 a year... They won't pay for my shit but I am sure as hell sure they will help me get a good lawyer, they already have hated my boss for years because I am under payed, and my boss is just a dick. He has a horrible reputation around town already for his computer repair business because he does a shotty job.
 
Adam

Adam

And you continue to work for him....why?

I'm sure you could work at McD's or something where they actually have corporate policies in place for shit like this.
 
HoboNinja

HoboNinja

It was easy work and it's damn hard to find a job right now, I may end up working at a fast food restraunt, I don't want to but I need to pay my bills.

My dad is in the IBEW and is going to get the local union lawyer in on this, he has to be breaking some laws here.


Oh also one thing... I don't know how I can prove it but I used to work over 40 hours and instead of paying overtime he would just take the extra hours and put them on the next weeks check so I didn't get it.
 
Espy

Espy

Man, if he's broke you aren't going to get anything from him. I'd just quit and go get a job elsewhere.
 
HoboNinja

HoboNinja

It's the principle of the matter, he has fucked so many people over in the last 6 years since he opened. I want justice.
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

HoboNinja said:
It's the principle of the matter, he has smurfed so many people over in the last 6 years since he opened. I want justice.
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I know you may feel like you or your buds have been wronged, and you want to fight the power or whatever, but hopefully you will grow up and realize you're being an insolent ass. Spouting how much your mommy makes and saying you're going to sue just adds fuel to the fire. You don't know the meaning of the word injustice. There's a lot worse shit out there than your boss being a boss. Being a boss sucks, try it sometime.

It doesn't sound like you have a degree. That means your choices for vocation are extremely limited. If you want a good paying job, try learning a skill (woodworking, dry-wall, etc.). Otherwise, you'll be stuck doing dead-end jobs like Dante and Randall.

Here's some good advice about work: be at work early (or on time at least), work hard, don't gossip, do your job, and mind your own business. Your life will be a lot better.
 
C

Chazwozel

HoboNinja said:
It's a lot more than just that Chaz, he has been being a total and utter * lately and I know for a fact he smurfed over two former employees when they tried to file for unemployment. The man is a crooked *, but everything he does seems to be legal.


Yeah we had a meeting today, I said fine I won't smoke at work. But now he has expanded it to, if I come in to play off-shift, I can't smoke, even if I stand the legal 15 feet from the building. That seems like bullshit to me. He also talked about cutting my pay since he can't afford it so I just will refuse to accept the lower pay.

The only thing about smoking in our original contract was that we can't smoke in the store, which is already illegal because the Iowa Clean Air Act. But he is changing it so we can't smoke at all while working or at the store off shift, I am not going to sign it. Whatever I am pretty sure I can get a better lawyer than his a** if he wants to try to smurf me on unemployment. He is broke as poop and my step-mom is a doctor making $250,000 a year... They won't pay for my poop but I am sure as * sure they will help me get a good lawyer, they already have hated my boss for years because I am under payed, and my boss is just a *. He has a horrible reputation around town already for his computer repair business because he does a shotty job.
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Is it really worth going to court over this? I say give him a hardy fuck you, take a big shit on his desk, and quit.
 
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