"I can't pay you this month..."

[Bruiser]

Okay, so my company has been in financial distress for quite a while now. We recently had to move out of our office space to save money (although it was presented to us that due to our client's HQ moving to Jersey we no longer needed a NY office). Now I just got word that I'm not getting paid tomorrow, but due to a new client we recently signed on, I can expect to be paid in 30 - 45 days.

I want to call my boss and ask him to lay me off so I can atleast collect unemployment (NY doesn't pay unemployment checks if you quit) but I'm being made to feel bad because as a show of good-faith, they aren't canceling my health insurance. I've been with these guys for 5 years, and it is a small business. I do a lot for them, and if I left they really could go out of business. I don't want to see that, but just because I'm an internal employee and not out on billable hours, I have to live without a paycheck for 6 more weeks? I think this is wrong and I should either quit or ask to be released. Any thoughts?

[zippy]

I would ask to be released. You need to look out for yourself and your income as well as your future career prospects.

[tina1979]

i would definately ask them to lay you off or ask if they had any other suggestions for that time period. just because they can't pay you doesn't mean that you don't have bills of your own to pay.

[uscuba2]

ehh, I'd ask to be laid off but make it clear that you are not quiting. BTW no state I know of pays unemployment if you quit.

[yes_is_a_word]

if they're asking you to go payless for 4-6 weeks, its time to move on. Ask for a layoff! Don't count on your health benefits - they still have to pay the premiums so if cash crunch comes, you'll be out these too if they can't pay the bills. As for the "we can pay you b/c of new client" in 30 days - it means that they are banking future services on past bills - which is a dangerous place for a business to be. To earn that income, they have to expend now - which when they've paid you for the past... is a really bad cycle...

There is a reasonable expectation for them to lay you off ASAP. The problem for them is that in the event of a layoff, they are required to settle with you financially - including vacation pay owed - which puts them in a further cash crunch.

Are there other options - for instance partial pay - with you then reducing your hours until they catch you up... this has to be a trade negotiation - otherwise they're in default/bankrupcy...

Are there others in your situation - if not, why?

[MetFanL]

That's messed up. Yes is the word gave some good advice. Follow it. Not getting paid for 30 days is unacceptable.

[pisces2473]

OH MY GOD. I would tell my employer to go to hell...well, not literally, but that's just completely wrong. They are responsible for paying their employees and it's not fair (or your problem) to wait 30 to 45 days until THEY get paid so they can pay you. So, what are you supposed to do, tell your landlord and the phone company and everyone else that they have to sit tight? If a job couldn't pay me, it's obvious that they've got other things on their mind than the welfare of their employees. Ask to be let go. You have to look out for number one.

[temptation]

yeah..pretty ridiculous.

[red]

ask to be released for sure. this actually happened to my husband at his old company (it was a .com). they were like oh, we can't make payroll but you'll get paid in 30 days. he never saw a dime of the money, and since he wasn't "technically" laid off, it delayed his ability to collect unemployment. after he was "officially" laid off he had to wait two weeks before filing. it sucked.

sorry this is happening to you. good luck- i hope you find something else soon.

[beautifulfreak]

i learned the hard way that when it comes to the whole 'i can't pay you until...' b.s....it's far better to get out of that situation asap rather than stick it through.

my story (i'll try to be brief)
- boss leaves town early for a weekend away at a spa with his bf....we're left taking care of the office while he's away and the paychecks we received before he left bounce when we try to deposit them.
- boss doesn't answer cell all weekend, we get really pissed.
- boss comes back, apologizes and 2 of the 5 people on the staff quit immediately...the rest of us stick around mostly cuz we didn't have anywhere else to go and partly because we honestly believed our paychecks would come through...
- (enter more drama...more paychecks bouncing...a boss/owner who never showed up...etc)
- then, one of the people who quit sent out a mass email to all our customers notifying them that our boss was a convicted child molester...this is news to us...more paychecks bounce, by now i'd been looking for another job for a while with no luck.
- no more business comes in. boss apologizes. says he's gonna come clean with us before he declares bankrupcy...we never see a penny, he closes business...i go on unemployment and get temp job.
- temp job doesn't pay enough, i am poor, car's dying, lease ending...i end up moving across the country with my parents to a state which i now despise. unemployment refuses to pay me anything since i moved and i 'quit' my temp job...the temp job was supposed to be over before i left anyway and i was never officially offered a permanent position yet when unemployment called them, they said i quit. i didn't even collect $300 from unemployment from the 2 months i was on it.
- i currently work for a measley $7.50/hr (making hardly more than i did in high school) i have a college degree and am still living with the parents with no immediate plans for my future other than having to find a better job.

the situation you're in is terrible and my advice to you is to get out while you can. maybe you'll be luckier with unemployment not screwing you over but you can thank our president for the dismal job market out there today. our minimum wages are far below poverty level and we are constantly leading into another depression if things don't turn around soon. it's not a good time to be hunting for a job these days...good luck.