worked for a bad boss- need advice

i was injured on the job and had a hospital bill of $600. my boss at the time said that he would cover it seeing how i was getting paid in cash and didn't have any insurance. it has been about a year since the accident and i get a call today saying that i still owe that. i'm sure that he isn't legally bound to pay my bill because there is no evidence of me working for him, but i'm wondering if i could blackmail him into paying it. he pays all of his workers in cash and that's illegal in wisconsin so maybe there's a place that looks into these kinds of matters.

 

What kind of work did you do??
If he has shit you could steal like tools, ladders, ect.
or sabotage his work vehicles that might make you feel better.

 

yeah he does construction so maybe i could take a skid loader or something. or maybe burn his house down

 

what does he say when you ask him for the 600?

 

There is no point stealing his stuff, it will prob be insured, he prob pays in cash for tax reasons, tell him you want the money, for the bill, or you will bubble him to the tax man, he wont want them people on his back

 

^yep, the IRS will come for their pie slice fo sho, and he knows it. Go see him, tell him to his face and give him a 1 hour deadline to fork it over. He would much rather pay $600 vs what he owes the tax man. Sick em. If you give him too much time he will put his people on the books or screw with the paper trail so you can't give him much time. He can come up with the money so just apply the pressure.

 

alright i will do that.

 

get the number of the irs and show it to him just so he knows u are serious, good advice from mothman, make sure you give him a small deadline to pay

 

Dude, the reality is that he is prolly covered in that he can say that he told you to file a 1099 (contractor). That would relieve him of any off the book responsibilities, only if he has not given you stubs or checks. If you are sure you are not reflected in the books then the tactic may work. Also, think of how you can prove you did the actual work for him. Finally, it may bring you tax probs of your own. But look out for strong arm tactics on his part if you can prove all that and drop that dime. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

 

To file a 1099 you have to recieve a 1099 from the employer. He's paying under the table so he isn't going to send one. Face it there buddy your out 600 bucks. If you try to strongarm him or go to the IRS your going to have far more problems than you have now. Live and learn, don't expect any of the perks of a traditional employment if you work under the table.

 

unless he actually files taxes on you in the spring...so he can make more money from paying out labor...you would have to pay your own taxes not him. I don't know how you can file a workmans comp claim though, even if he does file taxes on you come springtime...perhaps you have some sort of paper trail throught the hospital...nurses usually put on intake forms the nature of the accident and where it happened...

 

I find it interesting how people never complain about the tax dealings of under the table jobs until they realize that they are limiting their own rights by being part of the system of evading taxes.

I'm against the ways our government uses my tax money, so I'm all for evading taxes. However, you have to realize that there is a downside in that you are not a ligitimate employee, and therefore, don't have the normal rights and protections provided by the government. If you were on payroll, he'd have to pay.

When questioned, he'll say you are 1099 and responsible for your OWN insurance and tax filings. 1099 means you're responsible for reporting your own income. The classic example is a handyman; the "employer" is the person who hires you, but they are not liable to file and withhold taxes on you.

Unless you have evidence that HE is not reporting income from HIS earnings, the IRS will actually consider YOU delinquent on taxes, not him. He will only be afraid of the IRS if his own taxes are shady. AND, if he has any decently large business, his taxes are almost surely on the level or he has some very smart people wheeling and dealing for him and you most likely won't be a concern to him.

Next time, take the money you are saving in taxes and by health insurance so you won't be out so much.

Sorry its happening to you, but there isn't a lot to be done. You played the game, too.

 

^^ if your referring to me i'm not complaining i'm just looking for advice. i really wasn't trying to evade paying taxes it was more along the lines of me needing to find a job to make money. i would have been all for being put on the payroll, but that wasn't an option.

the business isn't big. it has three employees including my ex-boss. he is a shady type of person though. i know he has sat in prison and the way he runs his business is horrible (i.e. using cheap and inefficient products, lying to customers on the material he uses, taking supplies from other companies.) i'm almost positive that the two other employees working for him are paid under the table as well.

i don't want to have the impression that i'm whining or complaining because i'm not at all. i'm just asking and looking for peoples opinions in regards to if there is anything that i can do to get my bill paid off by him. this was the first and last time i've been paid in cash so i don't really know the rules and regulations behind all of it.

thanks to everybody who's tried to help

 

It's not an impression that you are complaining. Its just that people don't seem to take the whole picture into consideration when they take under the table jobs. You are just giving up a lot of rights by doing so. Classic example of where being a legitimate employee would have actually saved you money.

If you are to take an under the table job, it is important that you at leaast use the saved money to buy health insurance.

 

I wonder what kind of strain that will put on the contractors business when all of his employees need to file their 1099 and pay up? Wouldn't they all be caught by surprise, I don't think they will be too happy about coughing up 15% which I'm sure they didn't plan for. Especially around Christmas.

Let's face it, under the table jobs are simply not worth it if you have to sudddenly pay taxes and that little bit of extra jingle is taken. I can imagine what that would do to employee moral. I wonder how many people would suddenly start calling out sick and looking for other jobs? I also wonder how hard the ones that show up will be willing to work? How pissed off will his employees be when they find out they have to pay up because he didn't want to give you $600 for an on the job injury? I bet they question what will happen if they get injured. The owner is not holding all the cards as some would have you believe.

 

I worked for a guy that paid a whole crew, about 20 guys, with hot checks (this amounted to something in the range of $20,000). Several people wanted to give him a sound beating, but instead we went to his house with a bunch of friends (total of more than 50 people), and explained that we needed collateral to hold until he could make the payment good. No threats of physical harm were made, but then we took everything of value from his house ie. TV, microwave, furniture... Everything was stored in a barn until the next day when he suddenly was able to pay us.

I say you gather-up a group of friends, and visit the guy. Nonviolent is the way to go, and just get collateral for the 600 he owes you.