Remember 210 days ago when I was lied to owed my last paycheck? Well guess what, today I go fight for it! All $2,100 worth. In fact, I could very well be sitting in court as you’re reading this! :) (I’ll try and send out a tweet if I can get away with it, haha…)
We had our briefing the other day on how it’s all gonna go down, kinda like how they do on The Good Wife, and I must admit I’m damn excited about it. I’ve never been to this kinda court before! I’ve been summoned to Jury Duty here and there (and for some reason never picked to help with the trials ;)), but never have I sued anyone or felt like I was about to step inside of a movie. If I had the balls, and our ex-employer actually showed up – which is doubtful – I’d totally turn to them and yell “You can’t handle the truth!!” and promptly escort myself out, haha… but I’ll probably just end up standing there like an idiot… trying to stop myself from day dreaming.
And while I’m still just as fired up as I was back in December, I can’t help but feel a *little* bad for the new guys who have recently joined our suit (a handful more just got laid off last month in the same circumstance – big shock). Even that ex-VP who stood in front of me 7 months ago and told me I was fired! You think MY $2,000 is a lot? Boy… that guy is owed 2+ months worth PLUS commission, what a mess…
But like I told a few friends the other day, for me at this stage it’s not about the money any more. I’d love to have it, but it’s all about STANDING UP for ourselves now and fighting for what we believe in. I’m tired of companies just doing whatever the hell they want and acting like it’s okay because that’s “just how business is.” Bull$hit. Just because you’re legally a business, doesn’t mean you get to throw all your ethics out the window. If someone does work for you, you pay them! It’s not that hard…. you know that $300,000 your paying YOURSELF as a CEO? Well guess what, you’re not doing your job. At least pay the ones who WERE before you let them go and accused them of stealing (Remember that $hit? Arghh…)
It’s all rather sad. Our ex-CEO would probably kill someone if it meant a good ROI. It’s like he has no concept of right vs wrong anymore when it comes to business. He goes around telling everyone he’s a stand up Christian, and that he attends church every single Sunday (no exaggeration – he used to say it every other day), but when it comes to work he operates under a totally separate set of rules. You know that saying,”It’s not personal, it’s just business?” Well, he takes that and amplifies it to the max. It’s actually kinda scary. And another reason I’m so glad I’m outta there now!!
But yeah, that’s where I’ll be for the better half of the day :) Fighting the good fight, and taking on a totally new adventure in this crazy life! I’ll be sure to come back with a full report like always, but do me a favor and send over some positive vibes, will ya? I wanna walk into that courtroom pumped and full of confidence! That $17,000 was nice I got earlier in the week, but this guy’s a whole other ballgame (and whole other company, too – not to be confused with each other, haha..). However it ends up, though, at least we can say we went for it!
Happy Friday all!!
UPDATE: We won!!! See how it all went down here :)
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(Photo by Mister-E. Confirmed by J$)
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Good luck, J$! Keeping everything crossed for you. And you are right: sometimes we have to do thing not because of what we get but of what they make us.
That dude owes you money. PLain and simple. I’m not even that awake right now and I can see he owes you money. That violation of your trust is probably a worse crime, though.From what I remember it was like he never planned to pay you. I would be angry and hurt at the same time. :(
Good luck. Win one for the little guy.
J$ Best of luck in court today. I’d also add some in there for all the time, effort, pain and suffering and mental anguish that all this has caused you :-)
bump that figure up to 50k easy and stick it to the man. Remember its not only your pay check but the other funds they owed you since your leaving. Also think of the intrest or how much you could have made off that money had it been in your hands. (if you had gone to LasVegas you could really have made some scratch)
Wishing you luck! Get that money and stick it to the man!
Go get ’em!! People like deserve every little bit of what is coming to them!!
I have been working for people like that for 3 years now and am on my way out. I won’t be able to take any of my vacation earned…or probably my last 2 weeks worth money with me, but I will be walking out with my pride!!
Good luck J!!
I think it’s awesome that your fighting for this. So many people don’t fight their ex-employers or even current employers for things that are within their rights or wrongdoings that are illegal, because they either don’t know that the type of behavior is unacceptable, or they just don’t want to get into it. This makes the employer more likely to screw people over more often.
So way to go! Good luck!
Best of luck, and check your PO Box!
@jennieofcourse
good luck, my friend! will be sending you tons of happy thoughts today! (and if you can, if I were you, I’d totally attempt to pull of the “You can’t handle the truth!” If you can pull that off, I’ll buy you 2 beers!)
It’s crazy that people can draw such a line between personal ethics and business ethics. I doubt Madoff would have beaten an old lady on the street for her purse, but he was happy to rob people of their money when it was “just business”.
Living well is indeed the best revenge…but winning in court is not bad either. You already have the first, getting the second will just be icing on the cake.
Sending positive karma your way…
Good luck, man! The whole thing should prove to be interesting at least.
“He goes around telling everyone he’s a stand up Christian, and that he attends church every single Sunday (no exaggeration – he used to say it every other day), but when it comes to work he operates under a totally separate set of rules.” – That pisses me off so much. I hear so many people say stuff like that and then do things that are completely un-Christian (un-HUMAN)-like all the time. In fact, my husband is in a church softball league, and some of the guys are the worst sportsmen on the planet (swearing in front of kids, generally acting like jerks), and then they whip around and use the “good Christian because I go to church” excuse. It’s sad.
Good luck and all! Go J Money!
It’s those people that make me ashamed, at times, to admit that I am a Christian. (Which is wrong in itself, I shouldn’t be scared to admit such a thing) Nasty situation. Good luck today!
I hope everything works out. You’re right – there comes a time when we have to stand-up for ourselves!
Good luck J, although I still think you shouldn’t talk about it so much on your website. Just be careful.
Good luck J$!
Good thing you didn’t go back to work freelance when they asked, huh? :)
Good luck man! Sometime you have to stand up for what’s yours. :)
Good luck man! Will you use a lawyer? If so, how does she get paid given you are only suing for $2,100? I think OJ’s lawyer made that in an hour! :)
Good luck! Can’t wait for the update!
Good luck; hope you kick some a$$ today. :-)
Thanks everyone!!! It felt DAMN GOOD being up there today! Not gonna say what happened yet, but there shall be a new update post about it soon ;) Here’s to sticking up for ourselves!!
@Maria Nedeva – Amen to that, sister.
@Peliroo – Yeah, for sure. He seemed really genuine at first, and we all thought he’d do whatever it takes to get us our pay, but as the weeks (and then months) went on, we realized it was a lost cause. Even *if* the company has no money anymore, at least he could have been real with us and not turn into such a jack a$$. Some of the people in our suit blatantly caught him lying about this stuff, so F. that.
@cashflowmantra – Who you calling little? :)
@Kevin – Hah! Funny you should mention that. I learned in court today that we’re going after damages and penalties too – I hadn’t heard that before until we were smack in the middle of it… I’ll tell you all how that panned out soon.
@Niki – Thank you!!
@Brandi – Awwww, I am both sad AND happy for you!! :) Much smarter than I was in leaving on your own terms like that. Good for you. I hope they surprise you and you get all your money owed! (and watch out for deer still — this is your weekly reminder, haha…)
@daisy – Thank you! And I agree. One of my other reasons for filing it, and going through with it all, is to make sure they double think at least next time they’re up to no good. Of course if they just don’t care at all, it’s not going to matter much, but even if it stops ONE PERSON from getting screwed I’d call that a win :) So we see what happens now!
@Jennie Kohl Austin – Oooooh cool, okay I will!!! You just made my Friday!!! :)
@Trinnie – Haha… well, I can tell you this. I def. did something almost-stupid! You’ll hear about it soon in my next update post :)
@No Debt MBA – Yup! I agree. The sick thing is that some people even do this to their friends and family members. I’ve seen people be super cool and loving in social settings, and then turn their backs on them when it came to money or business, etc. Just unbelievable…
@crashdamage1957 – That’s an excellent way to put it, my friend – I love it :)
@Stephanie – I know, right??? All Christians(and non-Christians) make mistakes and ofcourse aren’t perfect, but DON’T GO AROUND acting all high and mighty when you’re certainly far from it. It’s not even professional to walk around spouting that to all your employees anyways, regardless of your actions in this world.
@Christine – Thank you, Christine! :)
@Andrea – I totally get you on that! Most of the other people in our suit were bashing Christians because of the way he acted, and it made me feel uncomfortable to say I was a Christian too. I think that’s just human nature because of the situation, but maybe we’ll get better at it as we keep practicing over time :) I appreciate you bringing this up.
@Daraius – Thanks D! We’ll see what happens :)
@Jaime – I know, and you’re right :) I change some things around to be a little safer, but the rawness is what got me blogging to begin with. Sometimes I have to embrace it and ride it wherever it takes me!
@Ash – HAH! That guy who wanted me to do the freelancing? (the one who fired me?) Guess who was sitting next to me at court ;) He’s now “one of us.”
@retirebyforty – Yes we do, sir!
@Sam – There are a dozen or so of us on the suit, all represented by one lawyer. We paid a little to get things started, but basically she gets paid when/if we all get paid. Which means she’ll get a LOT (40% or so) or nothing at all… and with all the people on the suit – and the circumstances – it’s a good bet ;)
@Jenna, Adaptu Community Manager -Thanks Jenna!
@Jen @ Master the Art of Saving – Thanks Jen! I was definitely an experience! :)
Standing up for ourselves. That’s right. No one has the right to play with us. We need to be strong enough to teach them a lesson.
Good luck in court! Give some reassurance to the new people added to the case. Everything will be fine.
Thanks guys :) It was definitely an experience!
Hey J,
I am glad you are finally getting your day in court!!!!!! What I fine interesting, people see me in an elevator and grab their purses and avoid eye contact. However, no one pays attention to these sharks in the corporate world and wall street in their couture suits. They will wipe you clean!!!! Pats on the back for sharing your story and standing for whats right, no matter what the outcome of …..karma will get them!!!!!
Thanks!! And guess what? WE WON!!! Just wrote up a post on it :) Feels damn good:
The Court Has Spoken: J. Money Wins!!!