Working to make ends meet has never been harder for many, but one New Jersey CEO decided that his workers don’t even need to be paid to work. Reddit user Pitstopdetailing, an employee of this company, posted a screenshot of an email they received from this boss. Long story short, the business is allegedly going under and hasn’t been able to meet payroll for over half of the staff. However, he still wants everyone to work for the good of the company, for free.
At a loss of what to do, Pitstopdetailing posted to multiple subreddits asking others for their suggestions. Needless to say, the grand majority doesn’t think this New Jersey employee should take this sitting down. “Take that letter and send it to the state labor board,” recommends a Redditor. “Print all stubs, w2s, 401k, medical to cover yourself. That is a sinking ship and the more documentation you have the better.”
Everyone Agrees That the New Jersey Employee Should Not Work For Free
Another commenter, upvoted by thousands, claims to have an even better idea. “File a wage claim, file for unemployment, and find another job,” they begin. “A wage claim at least makes as sure as you can be that you’ll be paid out of the company’s future bankruptcy.” Many other people echoed the same sentiment: Pitstopdetailing needs to start filing and get out of there.
While hundreds allegedly haven’t received their paycheck due to the company’s absence of funds, Pitstopdetailing mentions something quite telling. “Higher ups who get salary bi-weekly got paid last week,” they wrote, because of course the higher-ups would be prioritized. This didn’t sit too well with anyone tuning into this horror employment story. “You are not on a sinking ship. It sunk. You are trying to tread water in the middle of the ocean,” wrote a commenter.
OP’s words confirm many people’s suspicions that their company has locked in the decision to not pay their lower-level staff. “We already got dropped by Aetna as per an email 2 weeks ago,” they wrote, updating readers in the comments. Times are indeed dire for everyone, employer and employee, but it’s objectively outrageous to believe anyone would work for free after being told they wouldn’t be paid anymore, forever.
