The squeaky wheel

I spent a lot of Sunday day doing everything but filling out the paperwork for my wage claim. I made myself do it, finally, and took all the documentation to work with me on Monday so I could file the claim at local Claims office. That was Monday a.m. Around mid-morning, my supervisor (who I had complained to for an hour the previous week) i.m.'d me that my payments had gone through. Our i.m. conversation was still going on while I checked my bank account and voila! I was $3000 richer.

The dogs -- withhold payment until you're threatened with legal action.

My supervisor also told me that they're keeping me on the "0" payment plan which means my payroll goes through immediately. That's nice. In the end, all I wanted was to get paid. I was thiiiiiis close to calling the State in on it but I that was threat enough to see some action. So when something is not right with your employers, do your homework and threaten to blow the whistle on them. If no action is taken, do it.

I'm going to pass my story along to my fellow temps. They need to know they can negotiate their way out of it as well.

inversion paperwork

I finally filled out all the paperwork for my wage claim today. It wasn't that difficult but somehow I kept putting it off. It's been more than 30 days since my last paycheck and that's motivation. Now to get it to the office closest to work and the ball will finally be rolling! I told my supervisor at work that I was filing a claim and she's been investigating my payroll. I feel bad for her because it's not her fault but she'll undoubtedly hear it from high above if this thing actually gets investigated.

I did my first exercise in two weeks today. I've been afraid of re-injuring my back so I've laid low and haven't done much of anything. It was so beautiful today and I had so much time on my hand that I just had to get out. My mom and I went over to my sister's place in Manhattan Beach and she visited while I took a bike ride. I went slowly and not that far but the ride lasted 45 minutes and I worked up a sweat.

The best part of it all was using my brother-in-law's inversion table afterwards. You hook you feet into it like on a sit-up bench and then you just lean backwards. It's a strange feeling. You feel like you're going to flip over. But you don't and your spine gets straightened out. It's awesome! My sister Lilia tried it but screamed whenever she started to go back. Some people can't handle the sensation.

Spent much of today trolling for Wilco tix. I am so cheap. Didn't buy them in the first place because I objected to the $12 fees added to each ticket. The first show is tomorrow night and I still don't have anything. I am not worried. I bet people start unloading tix in a big way tomorrow.

And so it begins...

I sometimes am more of a doer than a sayer, so I will put this in writing: I am going to bust my company for withholding payment from all us temps. Met with an HR person Friday (thanks for the intro Peter!) who said all sorts of lines were being crossed as far as my employee status/situation goes and I have a strong case to present to the California labor board. I am going for it!

Tomorrow I will ask our HR person to define my employment (am I a temporary employee, freelancer, independent contractor?). With that info, I go to the labor dept. and break down what has been happening to me at the company. Why even though I am treated like a temporary employee (have a desk, set hours, etc.), I am treated like an independent contractor (paid with 1099, no benefits, etc.) Most importantly, I will detail the fact that the company is withholding paychecks from me because of some rule I was only told about two weeks ago.

This might turn into something big or nothing at all but I will keep tabs here.

ouch!

Backs sure are important. They are taken for granted until something goes terribly wrong, which is what happened to me this past Saturday.

After a morning yoga class, some cleaning, and washing my car, I reached down to throw something away and was thrown to the floor by a shooting pain in my back. I was down for the count. Couldn't stand or move that much. Spent the rest of the day on the coach but even that was painful because I couldn't turn or move on my own.

I was so immobile that when my cousin Felipe came over to show himself before he went to the prom, I couldn't even peek out the window to see him. Poor guy had to come inside where I was. (He looked sharp, but I don't know how he's going to feel about that white pinstriped tux in 20 years).

All my social plans were out the window so Chris came over to watch a movie ("All About Eve")with me. Thank goodness for that because he was able to lift me and then hold me from behind so I could get around the house.

I made some progress the next day but was still a hunchback. Called in sick Monday because the spasms were still happening.

I went into work today. No one noticed my condition until I walked. Though I feel straight, my entire upper torso is leaning to the right. I wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't glanced at myself in the full length bathroom mirror. Frightening.

I am hoping to straighten out these next few days. Don't know when I'll be back in yoga or on the treadmill. I will take is slowly 'cause I don't want to aggravate the condition. Just when I was doing sit-ups regularly too! I guess my flat tummy will have to wait until 1020.

The three percent rule

The man is sticking it to me again.

A couple of weeks ago, my department head told me that Nielsen Media, parent company of The Hollywood Reporter, was instituting a "three percent" policy for all freelancers, contractors and temporary employees like me. This means that the company has up to 75 days to pay an invoice. There is an option to have payment expedited but it's not pretty -- they take three percent fee off the invoice total.

My supervisor said the policy hadn't been used on all freelancers yet, so I was waiting to see if they skipped over me (maybe I was grandfathered in because I'd been there so long). However, the guy who sits in front of me and has been "consulting" since October just found out his check is taking the slow boat to his banking account. Even with his consent to take three percent out, they tell him it'll take at least 15 days to process payment. And get this, payment is processed out of India.

Nielsen outsources IT to India and their payroll too. It's a crazy system. If a printer needs a new printer cartridge, you file a help ticket that is picked up and supposedly resolved in India. Instead of an office manager-type replacing the cartridge in-house, someone in India gets the ball rolling on the problem and typically takes days to reply or solve the issue. It took two weeks to replace a printer cartridge. This said, I am not holding my breath about any payment issues.

When asked which option I'd prefer, I said I'd take the 75 days instead of the three percent cut. It's the principle. Why should I give up money for something that is as easy as an electronic transfer into my bank account? How can the company charge me a fee to pay me? Is this even legal? It's one thing to call someone an independent contractor who works remotely and completes tasks independently; it's another thing when that person has to be in the office at set hours with the same pressures and responsibilites as regular employees.

I've never seen this policy in writing , nor have I signed off on it. I'm going to ask to see it in writing and then refuse. My days at the Reporter are numbered anyway, with an intern coming in this month to do a lot of what I've been doing, so I might as well take a stand.