I'm beyond frustrated. I was hired to start a new job on June 18 (this past Monday). They called me last Friday to say that they decided they wanted me to start on Wednesday, the 20th. Ok, no big deal. I had already left my other job. My last day there was the Thursday before that. So on Tuesday, the day before I'm supposed to start, they call and say that because they had hired so many people to start (it was a massive project they were hiring for) they needed to stagger the start dates and that they were looking at the first week in August. AUGUST!!!!! What???? I have 2 kids to support and I'm not getting ANY child support right now. So now I'm unemployed. What do I do??? What are my rights??? I'm clueless. I want to work for this company, but is there anything I can do in the meantime to earn some money? Sure, my fiance lives with us and we have his income, but I don't think it's fair to depend solely on him for everything. Does anyone have any advice????

I would call human resources and let them know that they had already given you a start date of the 18th and you had given your former employer 2 weeks notice. Don't call the manager, call their human resources because they know they would be crossing some employment laws.

Is this salary or per hour? If it's salary they'll have to pay you regardless. If its by the hour you're a little stuck.

I know its important to not cause waves at a new job so check with human resources first and explain your problem with their change of start date (cordially). Then follow up the conversation with a friendly email to their department.

You may still have to take the loss anyway but at least you will know how they treat employees.

Have you already signed your paperwork for insurance, W-4s? That has your employment start date.

I'm on contract so I have a specific time frame and if they didn't have a position for me they still have to pay until they do.

I hate to tell tessmit she is wrong, but the company does not have to pay a person who does not work at all under the Fair Labor Standards Act which is a Federal law. I work for the department that enforces it.

Adrienne you need to check with the state to see if they have to pay you under these circumstances. GOOD LUCK!!

quote:

Originally posted by YJL279:
I hate to tell tessmit she is wrong, but the company does not have to pay a person who does not work at all under the Fair Labor Standards Act which is a Federal law. I work for the department that enforces it.

Adrienne you need to check with the state to see if they have to pay you under these circumstances. GOOD LUCK!!

In all fairness, could you please explain how I am wrong? I'm confused

I'm on CONTRACT that specifically states I'm guarenteed pay during a time frame, as long as I perform the duty I was hired for. I also need to reserve this time for my employers if I get a second job. If they close a position, they have to find another one within the company. Movement within the company is not uncommon.

There's a lot of times when someone is on SALARY where they don't have to come in. The project hasn't started yet, or they are waiting for funding. They still get paid.

I mentioned contacting HR department because if you work for a large corp. sometimes managers get caught in the project that they forget you have a family or what tax forms you already signed. If she didn't sign the w-4 which asks for the start date of employment, then she's not an employee yet, and stuck till then.

I was hired for the company through a staffing company, so I'm kind of unsure how to go about it as far as that is concerned. The staffing company is trying to find something for me to do in the meantime. I did sign the paperwork (W-4's and all that) already. I've found a little sidework I can do on a temporary basis to help out a friend a make a little extra. So, if nothing else, I can do that.... I still want to work for the company. Hopefully, if I show that I'm willing to work with them, they'll know that I'm one to keep around too.

I worked for an staffing agency a long time ago and it opened doors to a few incredible jobs. If yours are anything like mine, your stuck until the client signs the time card.

That's horrible where they changed the start date after they hired you. Sometimes these agencies will advertise for people with a certain specialization so they will look more ideally to clients by having more qualified staff.


Personally, I would use this time to set up interviews with companies I want to work for without the staffing agency assitance. That is because if you work a short amount of time with the company through a staffing agency, they will have to pay a fee to the staffing agency if you get hired with their company (even if you found the job yourself).

Best wishes.

tessmit,

I am talking about the Federal law that requires minimum wage and overtime be paid. Even if you are paid on a salary basis, if you do not work any hours in a workweek you do not have to be paid.

Contracts are private under the civil laws and cannot be enforced by the Federal Government. If your contract says you have to be paid no matter what, and the employer does not pay you, the Federal Government cannot make them pay you. You would have to take the company to civil court to have your contract upheld by a judge.

I'm sorry I confused you. I hope this helps explain things. It stinks, but that is the way it is.....

No problem Yvette,

I was in a bad mood when you posted earlier because my EX made an appearance and felt defensive.

I was also generalizing since Adrianne didn't specify what type of employee she was earlier.

Staffing agencies are so hard for single parents becuase they don't have the duo income household.

Yes, I worked for temp services before and got 3 really great jobs through them, but they could not keep me working enough between the jobs. They would send me on an assignment they said would take a week and I would finish it in 3 days and then lose 2 days pay because they would not have any other assignment to send me on. It was very frustrating. I like my civil service job.