question- regarding job

[teen]

so ive been at my current job for about 5 months now. when i first started, i signed a few papers. one of which said that if i was to either quit or i was fired from my current position, i couldn't work at a place in the same field for a period of 2 years (or something along those lines).
now, im working off the books. so, are the papers i signed valid? i mean, they have no record of me working there. im paid in cash, never filed any paperwork, other than an application. and say they wanted to file charges against me for say, quiting and picking up a new job in the same field, i could claim i never even worked their. they have no record/ proof other than my application. which i could just say i applied, but never took the job.
any thoughts?

 

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by teen
http:///forum/post/2503175
so ive been at my current job for about 5 months now. when i first started, i signed a few papers. one of which said that if i was to either quit or i was fired from my current position, i couldn't work at a place in the same field for a period of 2 years (or something along those lines).
now, im working off the books. so, are the papers i signed valid? i mean, they have no record of me working there. im paid in cash, never filed any paperwork, other than an application. and say they wanted to file charges against me for say, quiting and picking up a new job in the same field, i could claim i never even worked their. they have no record/ proof other than my application. which i could just say i applied, but never took the job.
any thoughts?
Don't be surprised if you get a 1099 form.

 

[pontius]

what line of work are you talking about? here in SC, if you get some specialized training from one employer and then go to use that training with another employer (within whatever written time period), then the employer that gave you the training can sue you or your new employer for compensation.
I know this guy that was trained in working with marble, like marble countertops etc. the first company trained him. then he dropped them and went to another company. company A called company B and complained, and the guy was axed. now this all happened here in SC, which is a non-union state. considering you're in NY, I'd guess the rules are 1000 times more stringent.

 

[teen]

whats a 1099?
i work at a LFS. only one that was hiring when i was in need of a job. the other one im looking at is now hiring, a lot closer to my house, and the hours would most likely be a lot more convenient.
what im not understanding is, how can they file charges? they have no proof i worked there. its off the books.

 

[bronco300]

you sure they don't consider you an employee though? if someone were to call the place of work and asked for you they would say you don't work there?

 

[pontius]

Originally Posted by teen
http:///forum/post/2503220
whats a 1099?
i work at a LFS. only one that was hiring when i was in need of a job. the other one im looking at is now hiring, a lot closer to my house, and the hours would most likely be a lot more convenient.
what im not understanding is, how can they file charges? they have no proof i worked there. its off the books.
a 1099 would be sent to you to file your own taxes. like you're an independent contractor. and therefore, you would NOT have worked under the table and it would all be on record.

 

[teen]

not really sure on that one. i guess they would say i did work there.
but still, never filed a w-4 or had to fill out any other paper work. i dont receive a check.

 

[bronco300]

not sure i understand, the first place you work at pays you cash and is the one who had you sign the papers? and now you're wanting to change...or you are alreadyyy changing and hte new place is paying cash?

 

[teen]

wouldn't i have already received the 1099 considering w-2s legally had to be mailed to me like 2 or 3 weeks ago? i mean its kinda late for them to send it to me now, so im pretty sure its all under the table. we never really dicussed how i was being payed. after my first week of work i went to pick up a check and was handed an little envelope with $$ inside. never spoke about it other than that and ive been geting payed like this since novemeber which is when i started.

 

[teen]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
http:///forum/post/2503247
not sure i understand, the first place you work at pays you cash and is the one who had you sign the papers? and now you're wanting to change...or you are alreadyyy changing and hte new place is paying cash?

the first place i worked at (im still employed there) is paying me cash and had me sign the papers. i want to leave here and work for a different LFS. not sure if this new place would be on the books or off the books. sorry for any confusion.

 

[spiderwoman]

1099 is different from W-4. I wouldn't be surprised either that when the end of the year approaches, they'll ask for your *** for the 1099. The other company won't know about your 1099, but if they try to get that info from IRS, not sure if they'd get it, but IRS sure knows about it.

 

[pontius]

you're probably right.
if you didn't realize what you were signing, when did it come up? did they remind you of it when you quit or something? if so, tell them to give you a 1099. which they probably won't do if it was a cash job. but then again, if they gave you some kind of specialized training and got in writing that you weren't to use it for a competitor, that could probably get you in trouble.

 

[teen]

no, i havent quit yet. but im seriously contemplating it.
the only other job ive looked into as of now is this other LFS. thats when i was thinking back to the papers i signed. i dont want to quit, then not be able to take a new job because of the papers i signed.
im pretty sure i read everything i signed. one paper was saying that i couldnt sell corals to any of theire customers. basically compete with them.
the other said something along the lines of if i no longer worked for them, i couldnt use any skills i acquired here and apply them to another store. i believe this was also the paper that said if i left this job for wahtever reason, i couldnt take a job in the same field for 2 years.
i guess it would have helped to get a copy of the papers i signed when i first started the job.
im going to find out about the 1099 tomorrow. im gunna be pissed if i have to come up with money next year for whatever money im making now. what i still dont understand is that if ive been working at this job since november, wouldnt i have recieved a 1099 for the time i worked novemeber and december of 2007? considering were in tax season now?

 

[tangman99]

It's called a non-compete. I've had to sign them in the past but whether they are enforceable depends on a lot of thing. Florida is a right to work state so if a non-compete is considered to restrictive, you can get around it. A friend of mine had a two year that he challenged and they agreed on a six month.
If you are being paid in cash, I doubt you will get a 1099. They have no proof they paid you anything if you didn't cash any checks and can't really present documentation to show you on a payroll to report to the IRS. I never worked 1099 but rather corp to corp. I would guess if a non compete is valid for in your state for two years and you signed it, they wouldn't have to prove that you ever worked for them. They have a dated and signed non-compete for two years. Just my opinion though.

 

[teen]

ok, say that is true. then couldnt they get in trouble by the IRS for paying people under the table? im not the only one being payed in cash.
i mean, they could bring me up on charges for breaking the 2 year agreement, but at the same time they would have to come up with an answer for how i worked for them and yet they've never written a check in my name? basically, to get me in toruble, theyd be geting themselves into trouble. right?

 

[tangman99]

You definitely can't pay people under the table which is why it coined by that term. When you do that, the feds don't get their taxes, as neither does Social Security or Med. So in short, yes they could get in trouble. It's like if you employ someone to clean your house and watch your kids like a nani. You are required to report money you paid them and pay the appropriate taxes on it.

 

[spiderwoman]

They would get in serious trouble with the IRS if their *paying under the table* ways would become public or IRS finds out one way or the other. It's illegal, simple as that and IRS would want what their share of the *action*.
Yes you could be charged for breaking the agreement, that is the whole point of signing the non-complete.
I have to sign those all the time when I'm doing custom programming for a client. I have nothing against it because I don't take new customers very easily and in those cases their industry doesn't compete with my existing customers.

 

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by TangMan99
http:///forum/post/2503328
You definitely can't pay people under the table which is why it coined by that term. When you do that, the feds don't get their taxes, as neither does Social Security or Med. So in short, yes they could get in trouble. It's like if you employ someone to clean your house and watch your kids like a nani. You are required to report money you paid them and pay the appropriate taxes on it.
Thats where th 1099 form comes in.Covers their butt.

 

[spiderwoman]

Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici
http:///forum/post/2503342
Thats where th 1099 form comes in.Covers their butt.
You are considered a contractor and your *** or Tax ID goes into the 1099 form.

 

[tangman99]

Non-competes can be a huge pain and I dealt with them in the I.T. industry also. I have not signed one in about 10 years though. After several years I settled down to a W-2 job and they never required one. When I was an independent contractor, they didn't hire me, they hired my company who employed me to do the work so no chance of them getting a non-compete out of me. I did have one client that pushed the issue once though and I flat out told them no. If they required one, they could hire someone else.
I can't really see signing a non-compete to work at an LFS but I guess anyone can ask for one. They would have to be a complete idiot to try to enforce it though if they paid you under the table, but there is one born every minute.