Where to go from here? - Page 3

russotto · 09-10-2004, 10:29 AM

Yep, PA also has an employee-paid SUI tax. But it doesn't really matter whether it's employer-paid or employee-paid. Any per-employee (or per-dollar of wages or salary) tax is part of the employee's burden, the cost of employing that employee, and causes a reduction in salaries.

Clodfobble · 09-10-2004, 12:05 PM

Sure, I'll grant you that. That's why contract-work is so popular with employers in my industry. Benefits add another 40% or so to the cost of an employee.

09-10-2004, 12:43 PM

Clodfobble, believe me, I know how humiliating it feels to accept government help. I resisted applying for disability for over a year because I couldn't see myself as someone living on the government dole and all my life I had stood on my own two feet. This pride only hurt me in the long run. One way or another, you DID pay into the unemployment system if only through a lower salary given by your employer since they were paying into the system. And its not like you lost your job on purpose, so you could go cheat the state and hang around the house all day drinking beer and watching TV. You are an honest person who paid her taxes, worked hard, and got laid off through no fault of her own. Accept the help to get through this rough time and don't guilt trip yourself over it.

Does Austin have any temp agencies that specialize in the technical fields? Once when I was between jobs I got a temp job through an agency like that as a software tester. It payed fairly well for temp work, lasted two months, and was actually fun to do.

Clodfobble · 09-10-2004, 05:44 PM

Yeah, there are a few. Austin's a big techie town. I was planning on registering with several agencies, but the first one took all freaking day (and then they got me a quick little job right away, so I haven't had a chance to go to any others yet.) I figure I'll wait and see how regularly they get me work before I spend another entire day in an office taking typing tests and the like. I've heard a lot of companies use more than one temp agency anyway, and it might look bad if they both were trying to send me to the same job...

Clodfobble · 11-06-2004, 09:25 AM

An update: We just received news that from Monday to Thursday of next week they're going to finally allow us to go into the old office building one at a time and retrieve our personal belongings, under the watchful supervision of the bankruptcy trustee and our former IT Director (who will be able to reassure the trustee about what is and is not company equipment.)

We don't know if the cleaning staff have gone through the offices at all since we were locked out on August 23rd. It would have been a good idea, since many people left food out, fully expecting that they'd be back the next morning. And I would think the smell of dead hamsters, fish, and other office pets would have caused the other tenants to eventually complain.

Guess we'll find out the damage next week.

xoxoxoBruce · 11-06-2004, 06:16 PM

That doesn't sound like much fun but at least you'll get your stuff.

Grab some company letterheads, they might come in handy.

Clodfobble · 11-06-2004, 09:42 PM

Personally, the one thing I'm really hoping they let me take off my desk is some old paperwork giving me stock options at $4.85. I figure in a couple of years, I can sell that and all my other company-branded knick-knacks on ebay to the "ironic nostalgia" crowd.

richlevy · 11-07-2004, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Personally, the one thing I'm really hoping they let me take off my desk is some old paperwork giving me stock options at $4.85. I figure in a couple of years, I can sell that and all my other company-branded knick-knacks on ebay to the "ironic nostalgia" crowd.

Well, you still work in a hot industry. Looking at what's out there, it looks like hundreds of millions are being dropped in development each year on games.

Clodfobble · 11-07-2004, 02:08 PM

Oh, definitely. My company was rather infamous among gamers though--I think we'd only had one profitable game in the last 5-6 years or so (which isn't to say they didn't sell well, it's that money was wasted to a significant degree in development.) It would be like owning stock options in Yugo.

xoxoxoBruce · 11-07-2004, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Personally, the one thing I'm really hoping they let me take off my desk is some old paperwork giving me stock options at $4.85. I figure in a couple of years, I can sell that and all my other company-branded knick-knacks on ebay to the "ironic nostalgia" crowd.

DoDads!

Clodfobble · 06-26-2007, 10:19 PM

Hey look! Remember this three-year-old thread about when I lost my job? Ah, good times, good times... but why, do you ask, would I bother to resurrect it?

Well, the wheels of the justice system turn ever so slowly. And we've just now heard some good news on the bankruptcy proceedings! They're hoping to finally start distributing funds to all the various creditors sometime around next January. That means I might finally get my unpaid wages from Sept. 2004, assuming there's enough money to cover the employees (which there should be, since legally we're first in line after taxes and court costs.)

AND, it turns out I might even get a little bonus: Texas has a law called the WARN Act, which basically says that if a workplace shuts down or lays off a majority of their employees, they must either give 60 days' severance pay, or 60 days' warning. Obviously my employer did neither, and a random law firm alerted us to this fact and offered to take the case for 30% of whatever they recovered for us. At the time we basically said, "Sure, knock yourselves out," and forgot about them. Well it turns out they stuck with it, and won, and there might actually be enough money leftover to cover some of the claim after all. So we've been told we'll probably be getting a little more than our owed wages, though no one knows how much for sure. Merry Christmas to me! (2007, or 2008, one of these years anyway...)

Flint · 06-26-2007, 10:23 PM

Wow... After all this time, it'll just seem like free money.

Griff · 06-27-2007, 06:46 AM

Very cool!

Clodfobble · 08-24-2010, 08:47 PM

Ha ha.

Ha.

Ha.

Remember this 6-year-old thread about my employer going bankrupt and not paying us our final paychecks? Remember how, three years ago, I bumped the thread because they'd told us that finally, finally, we were going to get our money? Yeah, that didn't happen.

But yesterday, August 23rd, 2010, I got a bona fide check in the mail for my unpaid wages. A quick re-read of the thread reveals that August 23rd was the very day we got locked out of the building.

6 years later, to the day.

Griff · 08-24-2010, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Griff

Very cool!

11-06-2004, 06:16 PM	#36
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	That doesn't sound like much fun but at least you'll get your stuff. Grab some company letterheads, they might come in handy. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

06-26-2007, 10:19 PM	#41
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	An unexpected surprise Hey look! Remember this three-year-old thread about when I lost my job? Ah, good times, good times... but why, do you ask, would I bother to resurrect it? Well, the wheels of the justice system turn ever so slowly. And we've just now heard some good news on the bankruptcy proceedings! They're hoping to finally start distributing funds to all the various creditors sometime around next January. That means I might finally get my unpaid wages from Sept. 2004, assuming there's enough money to cover the employees (which there should be, since legally we're first in line after taxes and court costs.) AND, it turns out I might even get a little bonus: Texas has a law called the WARN Act, which basically says that if a workplace shuts down or lays off a majority of their employees, they must either give 60 days' severance pay, or 60 days' warning. Obviously my employer did neither, and a random law firm alerted us to this fact and offered to take the case for 30% of whatever they recovered for us. At the time we basically said, "Sure, knock yourselves out," and forgot about them. Well it turns out they stuck with it, and won, and there might actually be enough money leftover to cover some of the claim after all. So we've been told we'll probably be getting a little more than our owed wages, though no one knows how much for sure. Merry Christmas to me! (2007, or 2008, one of these years anyway...)

06-26-2007, 10:23 PM	#42
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Wow... After all this time, it'll just seem like free money. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

06-27-2007, 06:46 AM	#43
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Very cool! __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

08-24-2010, 08:47 PM	#44
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Ha ha. Ha. Ha. Remember this 6-year-old thread about my employer going bankrupt and not paying us our final paychecks? Remember how, three years ago, I bumped the thread because they'd told us that finally, finally, we were going to get our money? Yeah, that didn't happen. But yesterday, August 23rd, 2010, I got a bona fide check in the mail for my unpaid wages. A quick re-read of the thread reveals that August 23rd was the very day we got locked out of the building. 6 years later, to the day. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

09-10-2004, 10:29 AM	#31
russotto Professor Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,788	Yep, PA also has an employee-paid SUI tax. But it doesn't really matter whether it's employer-paid or employee-paid. Any per-employee (or per-dollar of wages or salary) tax is part of the employee's burden, the cost of employing that employee, and causes a reduction in salaries.

09-10-2004, 12:05 PM	#32
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Sure, I'll grant you that. That's why contract-work is so popular with employers in my industry. Benefits add another 40% or so to the cost of an employee.

09-10-2004, 12:43 PM	#33
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	Clodfobble, believe me, I know how humiliating it feels to accept government help. I resisted applying for disability for over a year because I couldn't see myself as someone living on the government dole and all my life I had stood on my own two feet. This pride only hurt me in the long run. One way or another, you DID pay into the unemployment system if only through a lower salary given by your employer since they were paying into the system. And its not like you lost your job on purpose, so you could go cheat the state and hang around the house all day drinking beer and watching TV. You are an honest person who paid her taxes, worked hard, and got laid off through no fault of her own. Accept the help to get through this rough time and don't guilt trip yourself over it. Does Austin have any temp agencies that specialize in the technical fields? Once when I was between jobs I got a temp job through an agency like that as a software tester. It payed fairly well for temp work, lasted two months, and was actually fun to do.

09-10-2004, 05:44 PM	#34
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Yeah, there are a few. Austin's a big techie town. I was planning on registering with several agencies, but the first one took all freaking day (and then they got me a quick little job right away, so I haven't had a chance to go to any others yet.) I figure I'll wait and see how regularly they get me work before I spend another entire day in an office taking typing tests and the like. I've heard a lot of companies use more than one temp agency anyway, and it might look bad if they both were trying to send me to the same job...

11-06-2004, 09:25 AM	#35
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	An update: We just received news that from Monday to Thursday of next week they're going to finally allow us to go into the old office building one at a time and retrieve our personal belongings, under the watchful supervision of the bankruptcy trustee and our former IT Director (who will be able to reassure the trustee about what is and is not company equipment.) We don't know if the cleaning staff have gone through the offices at all since we were locked out on August 23rd. It would have been a good idea, since many people left food out, fully expecting that they'd be back the next morning. And I would think the smell of dead hamsters, fish, and other office pets would have caused the other tenants to eventually complain. Guess we'll find out the damage next week.

11-06-2004, 09:42 PM	#37
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Personally, the one thing I'm really hoping they let me take off my desk is some old paperwork giving me stock options at $4.85. I figure in a couple of years, I can sell that and all my other company-branded knick-knacks on ebay to the "ironic nostalgia" crowd.

11-07-2004, 02:08 PM	#39
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Oh, definitely. My company was rather infamous among gamers though--I think we'd only had one profitable game in the last 5-6 years or so (which isn't to say they didn't sell well, it's that money was wasted to a significant degree in development.) It would be like owning stock options in Yugo.

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