I joined a startup and it's been a month they haven't paid me, what can i do?

IANAL, but a couple things:

1. Are you a contractor or employee? Big difference in how this is handled.

2. If you are an employee, it's against the law to not pay you for your time/work. There are state/federal legal remedies for this.

3. If you are a contractor, there are legal remedies as well, but more on side of civil lawsuits to collect payment.

4. I am a little confused. You say you haven't been paid in month, and while technically that may be true, if your first check was scheduled for the 30th, they aren't technically a month late on paying you. Yes they are late, and yes it is wrong, but I would be clear when communicating that.

With that in mind, I would talk to the founders to find out what the delays are, when they are going to be remedied, and start looking for a new job regardless. It's easier to part ways now, then to let the situation get worse over time or occur again in the future.

In the meantime, keep your communications professional and don't let your emotions take over.

hi,

Thanks for your feedback Jeff. I am an employee, not a contractor. The thing is, I never asked when would be my first paycheck, so I assumed it would be every 14/15 days like it mostly is everywhere. So I contacted the "HR" lady, which is a new hire as well, and she told me I'd get paid on the 30th since my direct deposit isn't setup. I told her i could set it up right now, and she said they are waiting to move to a new HR system, then they'll get in touch with me (it did not contact me) Also, I had to contact them otherwise I wouldn't have heard from anyone, it could have kept on going forever.

I'm not sure, but it seems that other new hires have been in this situations for months... Do you think i was duped into getting hired and work for free?

Again, IANAL, if this is an ongoing thing and others have been in the situation for months, there are bigger issues. I don't know if you were "duped" or not, but I would get out quick. As for initial payday, many companies have a ramp up period for your first paycheck. You may miss a payday if you start mid-paycycle. I have had a job where it took almost a month from the day I started till my first paycheck arrived. So just because you are supposed to get paid every 2 weeks, it can vary for that first paycheck.

In the meantime, you should check with your state division of revenue or unemployment office to see what can be done. It is illegal not to pay employees for work performed, so they may be able to force the company's hand on paying you. Financial problems of the company are not your problem, and you are still entitled to your pay.

Regardless, my advice is to get out now before it gets worse for you and your own financial situation takes a bigger hit. Talk to your state agency and an employment lawyer in your state for additional help.

Both of the explanations offered by HR are plausible. But since a founder has told you the company is broke, it's probably broke.

I would tend to read the situation as the company leadership being desperately over-optimistic and trying to hold on to sunk costs at any cost.

Lastly, trusting people and expecting them to be honest and decent and of reasonable character is not a failing on your part. It is probably the best behavior anyone has exhibited in the situation.

I've been in that situation before. Are you a contractor or employee (w-2 vs 1099)? I've had people skip paying invoices. Also, once as an employee, the founders told me they were having financial troubles and wouldn't be able to pay me anymore. They asked me if I would work for free and I said no. They magically raised more money over the weekend to keep me on, but I left a couple weeks after that.

Try to get a clear picture from the co-founder what those "delays" are and what you can expect. Professional, non-emotional communication is important. If you don't like the answer, or don't receive one, mention that you will start looking elsewhere because you have bills to pay and working for free wasn't part of your hiring agreement.

Look through any documents you've signed to see what legal rights you have. It may need to end up in a small-claims court.

Good luck!

The "magically raised" funds could be from the founder's personal savings, which he was reluctant to use, and he was trying to see if he could get away without using.

I sometimes grant leniency when this happens -- but only about a week's worth, and even this this really shouldn't happen more than once, period in a working relationship with someone. And even then, I only grant leniency when there's good vibe all around and I feel like I basically like/trust them.

Either way, about the best thing you can is tell the guy, "I'm sorry you're having difficulties, but this wasn't what I was expecting when I signed on to work here, and in any case I won't be able to stay on in the presence of significant delays in compensation. The most I can give you is $N days. If you're not able to work with that, then I'm sorry, but I'll have to put my work on hold", where N should be ideally be 3-5 days, and no more than 7-10 (and that, only if you really like the guy).

And then hold firm. Making reference to your previous discussion about runway would be an excellent assist to your case, as it helps depersonalize the situation, and focus the founder's attention on keeping his word as to what he's said previously.

I would be inclined to say leave immediately, find a new job and rate them negatively on glassdoor. It seems like it's a bit too early for them to not have the financial foresight to be able to pay you. Maybe after a year, but not after just being hired.

If you really care about the company, your role, and have over a year's worth of expendable savings, you could try to convince them that a partnership with an equity stake is a better form of payment for both parties. Good luck though; sounds like they're scheisters.

You need to look up the appropriate labor laws for your country/state in order to determine what options are available to you

> the co-founder called me saying they're having "financial delays".

First, seek to understand. Go see the Co-Founder in person if you can, at least have a live phone conversation.

Ask what's the nature of the delay? When can you expect to be paid-in-full?

Can they give you at least a partial payment today? After all, you've got bills to pay too.

Those answers should help inform next steps. There may be an entirely reasonable explanation and a plan to make good. Be extra-alert for patterns & other inconsistencies.

Exactly. One should never allow oneself to be a doormat. But it also doesn't cost (all that) much to be human, and give people the benefit of the doubt, in situations like these.

Been there before there is basically 0 enforcement of labor law in California I've been an engineer since 1998, its basically anything goes. I've been fired for doing 40 hours of unpaid overtime when they wanted another 60 for 140 hours a week for 40 hours pay. Its perfectly legal to fire you for "underperformance" for getting 6 hours of sleep instead of 3. I've had employers stop paying me and beg me to work for free but its usually temporary, happens a lot in the industry, its even worse for contractors but being "full time" is not much better, even though we have labor laws they just don't get enforced at all. In a couple of decades I've never seen labor laws followed or enforced in California.

Have you ever filed a legal complaint?

Sometimes companies you'll get your first paycheck on the second pay period that you've been there . . . or maybe you get paid a week after the end of the pay period.

I'd reach out to HR again to express your concern and see how it's supposed to work, maybe ask a co-worker hey what are the pay periods and when should I expect my first check.

After that if things don't see proper, reach out to the founder and express your concern on the pay periods/delay of your first one, is this going to be resolved and back on a normal schedule.

Good luck getting back on track.

In the US? Call the founder back and say you want your paycheck today. His financial delays are not your problem.

If he says he "can't" then quit, go to the unemployment office and tell them. I don't know if you can collect unemployment after working for such a short period, but they will investigate and you will eventually get paid.

If he says he "can't" then quit, go to the unemployment office and tell them.

This is generally bad advice in many states -- and can put his unemployment claim at risk (if he's a full-time employee, which is usually what most states require before allowing you to tap unemployment benefits).

Typically the states will have specific requirements about what constitutes a "no-fault" loss of employment. He should definitely look into what those are (and think carefully about whether what he intends to to meet those criteria) before simply resigning.

I don't think there's a single state in the Union where not getting paid is not a valid reason for quitting.

I had a friend who quit because his guaranteed bonus was not paid (he still received his salary), and the Unemployment insurance considered it a valid reason to quit. UI was paid even though the employer fought it.

You're welcome to speculate all you want as to whether one needs to wait 3 days, 7 days, or 15 days after an employer has failed to provide compensation before resigning, and have it still be classified as an involuntary separation, in the state's view -- and act accordingly -- if that's how you roll.

My advice to the poster is that he simply check explicitly as to what the regulations say, before taking the plunge -- rather than simply guess, and hope for the best after the fact.