Photo via u/67eight/Reddit
November 1, 2021, 1:30 pm
A new entry in the “Antiwork” forum on Reddit caught attention by showing people who have quit their jobs a fun way to deal with old bosses who try and skip out on paying a worker’s final paycheck — a common form of wage theft, which accounts for the vast majority of total theft in the U.S. A former construction foreman was ghosted hardcore by their boss after quitting their job in the most amicable manner, writing a letter to explain why the company was not a good fit for him.
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The problem was that the company still owed the foreman a total of $2833.20 for the last couple of jobs he did for them. After three months of ignored phone calls and emails, the desperate worker took their complaint to the company’s Google Reviews page.
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In the text of the one-star review, the foreman outlines his complaint against the company and warns anyone reading that hiring them could mean supporting a business that engages in wage theft.
“I don’t know how else to get your attention,” the review reads. “I’ve sent many emails and cc’d your project manager and accountant. I messaged you on your mobile and I’ve had no response for over 3 months.”
The worker explains that he tried to quit the company months prior to their actual act of quitting, but after speaking with this boss “agree to continue my employment on a casual basis.” This likely means that the foreman was employed as an independent contract worker during this period, as is increasingly common with construction workers.
After the relationship continued not to work, the foreman says they once again submitted a letter explaining their reason for quitting, which is not a necessary thing for any worker to do, and “returned company property in good faith.” Yet months later, the company has not paid his final invoice or even bothered to tell him if they had a problem with his work.
Interestingly, the bad review worked like a charm, getting a response in good time that managed to blame the worker both for the ghosting and the unpaid invoice, all while admitting to wage theft.
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“First of all, just the fact that you are trying to reach a company via Google Review in a poor attempt to damage the company name it shows what type of professional you are,” the company response reads.
Perhaps they could have avoided the review by answering an email.
The response goes on to make a bunch of claims about the speed and quality of the foreman’s work and had the nerve to accuse him of poor communication skills. Then they admitted to criminal behavior.
“The only reason your last invoice wasn’t paid is because the loss you caused to the company is higher than the hours you are charging for,” they conclude.
This, good readers, is wage theft. No matter what a company claims you may have cost them via not working good enough, they are still bound by law to pay what they agreed to pay you for the hours worked. If they have a concrete complaint about something specific you did to damage the company reputation or cause them undue costs, they have to sue you for that in court. They can’t just steal your last paycheck.
It’s also hard to believe that the company was so displeased with the foreman’s work when he had to make two attempts to quit, with his boss arranging a meeting to convince him to continue working for them the first time.
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This and other factors have many Reddit commenters doubting the company’s story and encouraging the foreman to sue, which he indicated he will be doing in follow-up comments.
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*First Published: November 1, 2021, 1:30 pm
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