Can I quit and receive unemployment if my boss constantly delays pay…?

by J

(California)

I’m going insane at this job! Earlier this year the boss decided to change mine (and other employees)’s direct deposit, considering she can no longer afford to pay the payroll company to do such things. After okaying (and not having a problem with it at first) it, the boss finally notices that (with the economy), the company is slow at earning income.

This causes her to delay most of the employees and independent contractors’ (IC) pay. I work directly under the boss. She believes that ICs do not have a set date/day of when they should be paid. I am not an IC, but a “regular employee”. I also work directly under the accountant as well, and we’re both stressing on the fact that not many of the employees and independent contractors are being paid as promised. Not only that, we’re all obligated to “ask for our paycheck”, even though I have a set schedule of when to be paid, I still have to ask this.

Recently, the money at the company is almost going to a halt; telling most of the workers that “they are not doing their jobs” and enrolling more people into the school. We are all hesitant in enrolling people because it seems to us that we are just enrolling the school to pay the debts that have accumulated from not paying bills and employees/ICs.

She is also recently deciding to change my employee status to an IC; seeing that would be more of a “win-win” situation (logically, it’s not, it just allows her to not pay me!). I have access to all the records in the accounting department to prove that not only has she not have paid many contractors. I also have emails of her saying “we’ll pay you when we can”. I also have other co-workers that have emails saying this; many of them stressing out on how to get food to feed their families, pay bills, and pay where they can live.

I’m very tired of literally “begging” for my check. It has increased my stress, I had to let go of my medical insurance since I can no longer pay for it, and am in the process of losing my apartment since my husband has been laid off since July. Please help, the CA EDD website has wording that is very vague and need more clarity with this.

Thank you…

Hi J,

Oh Brother! Did you read Section 4 on this page? It seems pretty clear to me.

Secondly, I would like to address the change to IC. I’m very acquainted with what an IC is .. I use to hire them to handle unemployment hearings for employers in quite a number of states. They were self employed people.

Which meant that a fee was paid for services and they had the right to refuse to provide the service as they saw fit. I nor the company I worked for could force them to do a job for us.

But this does not mean that all “contract” workers are self employed.

Interestingly, your employer must pay Unemployment tax on your earnings if you are an employee .. changing your classification it an IC requires some change in the employer’s and your attitude about how you will now be working together.

I suggest you read this PDF at the USDOL to find out exactly what an employee is whether on payroll or not.

It is called Coverage

You can imagine if your employer is dense enough to think the labor laws are malleable enough to alter the conditions required to pay you .. they might be dense enough to think that they can reclassify you and not pay unemployment tax .. just because they are thinking of intentionally misclassifying you.