I've had it. I'm quitting my job.

[chrisesq]

No real risk though, I already have an unsolicited job offer that I will accept in the morning.

Let me indulge in a rant.

I busted my butt all through the month of August generating close to $7000 in attorney fees. I get 60% of that amount as my cut. The rest goes to overhead and whatnot. I have collected the entire $7000 and put that money into the firms bank account. I am supposed to get paid my cut no later than the 3rd day of the month following the previous billing period. That was the agreement when I took this job. Not to beat this into the ground, but I collected the money and it now sits in the bank account over which the Senior Partner has absolute control.

As of today, the 7th, I have yet to receive my percentage. Backing up to last week: the senior partner decided to take a 5 day weekend with his wife (the payroll person) and she was unable to go over the billable hours and cut me a check. Moving to this afternoon: I ask the senior partner when I am going to get paid. He states on the 10th as the payroll person has not had the time to calculate the amount I am owed. I calmly explain to him that I have not been paid in 5 weeks and I have bills that need to be paid and do not want to be subject to late charges, which will likely be around $150. I then state that it was the agreement when I was hired that I would get paid no later than the 3rd of the month. He says, no its not, it was the 10th. I then provide a copy of the email which I received Friday Morning (the day after they left for their trip) that I would be paid late and it would be on the 10th. Well, that e-mail states that the 10th is late. This is when he says the thing that really pissed me off and made me decide to quit. He says "well you need to put money aside for your bills." I just calmly walk away, call the people who already owe me money for this months work to send the checks directly to my home address.

Fuck him. I need to put money away for bills. No, I don't need to put money away for bills if it is expected that I will be paid on the 3rd day of the fucking month. Not a full week after that date. Who in the hell does he think he is?

My wife is 8 months pregnant. We have incidental costs becuase of that. He knows this. We bought a house last month. We had to cough up a down payment and buy a washer and dryer. He knows this. We had to put a downpayment for the daycare center. He knows this. We had to have pay the final installment payment so we could save the baby's cord blood. He knows this.

And he has the fucking nerve to tell me that I need to put away money for my bills? No, what you need to do, you cheap bastard, is to give me the money that I already diligently put into the firms account. The money that I made this firm. The money upon which you are currently making interest. The money that is mine. The money that I was promised when I was hired would be given to me no later than the 3rd of the month.

Well guess what, you asshole, all the money that I will make this firm till my final day there, you will see none of it. I told my clients to send it to me. And when I get around to giving you the 40% for overhead, well, when I can get around to it, I'll pay you.

Unfortunately I can only take the passive-agressive approach in this issue, but it's the only recourse I have.

End Rant. Thanks for listening.

[Systematic Chaos]

1. Congratulations on your new job!

And you're ONE HUNDRED PERCENT RIGHT - FUCK HIM!! :D

[mark414]

2. is he a republican?

cause he sure sounds like it

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. My first thought

:-)

[chrisesq]

5. No, that's the odd thing. He may hate Bush more than me.

He's just a cheap paternalistic jerk. I guess that attitude is not limited to the republican party.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Sadly, no it isn't

Lots of cheap bastard democrats, too.

Sin knows no party lines. I'd rather it did know party lines, but alas, it does not.

[will work 4 food]

4. what's a job? People still have those?

Do you live in India or China?

[chrisesq]

7. Yeah, you'll laugh at this, I'm a bankruptcy and creditors rights attorney

There's no lack of work in that field recently.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. Yep, fuck him

What he's done is totally unacceptable.

[chrisesq]

9. Especially since this is the 3rd time in the past 5 months.

Very rarely have I been paid on time. I have probably shelled out close to $500 in late fees over the past 6 months due to his inability to pay me on time. This is just the first time I mentioned it. I am not one to make waves in a work environment, but today was the final straw. Other things have been pissing me off about that firm as well, but that was managable. No more. I've had it and I am outta there.

[madmax]

10. You're right.

I would be livid if my employer owed me 5 weeks pay and told ME I had to put money aside for bills. :wtf: is that!! He sounds like a jerk.

Best of Luck to you and your family. Congratulations and a toast to the soon to be born baby. :toast: :hug:

[chrisesq]

11. Thanks. Its our first child and this is not the kind of "stability" needed

I need to think about what you said some more. It has been 5 weeks since I was last paid. That's 2 months worth of bills, not including the other things mentioned in my initial post. Not many people can make one months pay last 2 months when they are in a similar situation.

I'm not bad with money and we have been very frugal over the past month. Who in the hell does he think he is telling me how to run my life?

[madmax]

12. Plus the fact that you just bought a home

and have 'extra bills' with the new baby on the way. He's out of touch and inconsiderate.

[chrisesq]

13. My guess is that he either was never in a similar situation, or

he has completely forgotten how difficult it can be if he had similar circumstances.

[Sindawe]

14. Your former employer does have a point...

You SHOULD have a reserve fund to deal with this kind of dren, 'specially if you have a new child on the way. Just 'common sense'. If you have such and are just unwilling to dip into this, this being a repeat of prior behaivor of your former employers part, stand firm on this contract breaking hoser! I do hope you got some form of employment agreement....

CONGRATS on the new job!! Maybe you still have a chance to negetiate a clause in your new employment contract that if you're paid late, they owe you some painfull measure of interest as penance for their sins?

Chrisesq said:

--
We had to have pay the final installment payment so we could save the baby's cord blood.
--
(sorry, new to board, don't know all codes yet)

Future stem cell source I presume? KEWL, I'd not thought of that.

Thinking of the level of professionalism in your employers office. Yep, he's a cheap ass sorry S.O.B. I'm rather shocked that such takes place in what I presume to be a LAW FIRM. They should know better.

[miss_kitty]

15. As the daughter of an atty, the cousin of two attys and a person who has

several attys as friends, i am constantly amazed at people who try to screw attys. i mean how fucking stupid does the senior think you are? you aren't going to know or have a copy of your own terms? then when they aren't fulfilling your obligation, YOU'RE the asshole for not forseeing this situation? christ. i'll never geddit.

my neighbour is with the PDs office. apparently, someone (the office wing nut) was offended by a political sentiment expressed in writing (a bumper sticker) outside a collegue's office, where people had for years posted family pics, personal sentiments-nothing outrageous-just personaling the space they spend many many hours at, for pretty low lawyering pay. long story short-they were ORDERED to take everything down. my neighbour who had nothing posted in that space outside her door, posted the 1st amendment. Then the office banded together and said "Let's Unionise!" big climbdown-but like i say-who TF do they think they're dealing with? retail workers? waitresses? high school students?

sorry to make that about my neighbour...but it's something that mystifies me.

Congrats on the great stuff going on in your life...people talk smack about lawyers all the time and their full of shit for doing so-allegedly AND in my humble opinion...