so now I am slammed with more work remotely than before the pandemic making minimum wage for 2 months or more. I am wondering if this is even legal under the labor law regardless of the company's profit loss to hit employees with such a hefty salary cut? Seems the company that downsized by cutting employees hours and salary is more rational if I do the math.
50% pay cut = 50% cut in hours worked. unfortunately if you're in a "right to work" state like ny, and an non exempt salaried worker, you can be dicked down as much your employer likes.
according to the company owner in theory, the employees are in good grace of still being employed. In contrast, it's not far off of being taking advantaged of.
passion does not justify unpaid bills and family expenses.
Apr 26, 20 7:51 pm ·
·
geezertect
The warm glow of making the world a more beautiful place will keep you toasty while living in your car. We must show Mother Architecture how much we love her.
Not sure where you are located, but NYC has a requirement if you make under a certain amount you get paid overtime. Wondering if that is applicable with your salary cut / where ever you're located.
to follow up with all the above responses, I had discussed the issue with the company owner that I need to take up another part time job to compensate for the 50% cut and got let go. I was told that I was required to be on full time making peanuts in order for the company to survive through the outbreak. To sum it up, as long the company makes it the employees are required to suffer.
You need to name and shame. The way this firm acted is ridiculous and they deserve not to survive. A 20% pay cut is survivable, 50% is not.
Apr 26, 20 11:00 pm ·
·
placebeyondthesplines
jesus christ, you are the most ignorant idiot in history
Apr 27, 20 8:21 am ·
·
CodesareFUN
Balkins, it’s clear you’ve never worked a day in your life. At no point did you make what could be considered a rational thought. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Apr 27, 20 8:28 am ·
·
Chad Miller
Rick - please shut up you moron. First off making $75k a year in NY city is low and not a livable wage for a family of four. Second in no way are unlicensed staff in NY making $150 k a year.
lol 150k ?? that is in the principle rank and is still not much in comparison to many other industries after payout to uncle sam. I ll just note that after the cut I would be getting less than 25k a year.
Apr 27, 20 12:43 pm ·
·
Dangermouse
nyc legal minimum wage for salaried workers is 58.5k/yr and that's exactly what most junior staff are paid...some, like LTL, pay less.
Apr 28, 20 10:17 am ·
·
Bench
$3k does not get you that apartment in brooklyn. $75k is nowhere near enough for a family to live on in NYC.
You've literally never worked a day in this field, possibly ever - so frankly, fuck off with the bad advice.
Apr 28, 20 1:07 pm ·
·
Dangermouse
balkans, shut. the. fuck. up.
you have no idea what the rental market is like in nyc, those prices literally don't exist in brooklyn, suburban jersey is more expensive than that even, you have to be at least 1 hour out by metro north or NJ transit to see those prices.
you don't have to know everything or contribute to every thread. accept that your knowledge ends somewhere and be done.
Apr 28, 20 3:20 pm ·
·
Bench
Hey OP - don't think you've been around here for long, so word of advice, you should really just disregard RB's comments across the board.
Apr 28, 20 3:36 pm ·
·
Bench
Sure let’s disregard the experiences of those actually living in NYC right now and take the word of a guy who’s never set foot here and never had to pay rent. Swell.
Apr 28, 20 8:05 pm ·
·
CodesareFUN
And you live where the Goonies was filmed. Go do the truffle shuffle and quit derailing conversations where you clearly know nothing about the subject.
Apr 28, 20 10:40 pm ·
·
tduds
Rick's ability to think of hypotheticals far exceeds his ability to gauge their realism.
Apr 30, 20 11:56 am ·
·
placebeyondthesplines
okay balkins, you absolute fucking idiot, since you need numbers and documents to function and you think you know more than all of us who live/have lived in nyc: the standard income requirement for renting apartments here is 40x the monthly rent annually. meaning to qualify for a $3000/month apartment, you (or you and your roommates combined) would need to earn $120,000/year. look it up, you goddamn imbecile.
May 1, 20 5:07 pm ·
·
bklyntotfc
As someone who's actually lived in nyc for the last 25 years, and brooklyn for the last 20, I'm really enjoying Balkins ricksplaining to everyone how much things cost here. And I'm imagining him living in one of those apartments in East New York (this involves a lot of cowering behind a door that he's installed 17 deadbolts on) which is possibly the worst neighborhood in Brooklyn (I once had someone throw a brick at me as I rode my bike through ENY, but in fairness that was 20 years ago, and they missed). Although ENY is improving (i.e. gentrifying), and is also probably the best place in Brooklyn to plop down $1M in a real estate investment if you were willing to wait 10-20 years for a great return on your investment.
May 1, 20 5:35 pm ·
·
bklyntotfc
Oh...and I also had an employee about 7 years ago who lived in ENY, she very occasionally would sleep in the bathtub because she'd heard shots fired on her block at night. I was always amazed she took this in stride.
May 1, 20 5:37 pm ·
·
Bench
Holy shit you are so far gone. Too many problems in those statements to even start.
This in a nutshell is the balkinization that happens to just about every thread he touches. He takes some innocuous thing and comments on it trying to show how much he knows but really just shows how little he knows. He gets called out on it, and then doubles down trying to prove that he is correct and the people who know more are obviously wrong because he has google at his fingertips. Then as a way to deflect, he makes it all about himself and his personal situation, or hypothetical situation, and apply it as a broad brush to everyone else. It's Dunning-Kruger meets extreme narcissism and who knows what other phobias.
May 1, 20 6:22 pm ·
·
placebeyondthesplines
you live, rent-free and unemployed, in your parents’ house in Oregon. you are a fucking failure and you have no standing to discuss the situations of people who are busting their asses to afford their own lives.
May 1, 20 7:01 pm ·
·
placebeyondthesplines
someday, when mommy and daddy are no longer around to give you an allowance and you actually have to work for a living, you will learn that the world doesn’t always adhere to the same logic you do.
Rick, you started this tangent saying that $75k is survivable for a family in NYC. Now you’re saying that unless someone were to offer you $80k-$100k you would tell the to F-off. Which is it? If a family can survive on $75k, surely you alone can make ends meet with the same.
May 1, 20 11:19 pm ·
·
placebeyondthesplines
you were never in any danger of being employed by anyone.
May 2, 20 12:22 am ·
·
placebeyondthesplines
my point about you living rent-free and unemployed (which you predictably missed entirely) was that the stakes for you are extremely low. you have no income to lose and no financial obligations, and likely never have. so you have no standing to tell anyone else how the working world should or should not function.
May 2, 20 12:26 am ·
·
placebeyondthesplines
it’s also clear that you’ve never actually been employed, because you never account for income taxes or health insurance in any of your absurd math.
I read it differently. The way I read it, the OP was let go for discussing the need to take on part time work to make ends meet. Firm didn't even let the OP have the chance to work less than full hours.
Apr 28, 20 11:28 am ·
·
Chad Miller
Good point. That makes the firm even more of a jackass.
Apr 28, 20 12:22 pm ·
·
randomised
Damn, didn't get that far down the thread...that sucks though.
It sucks how they treated you, but by letting you go you can get unemployment which is like $980 a week with the fed money in NYC.... and you don't have to work.
it makes me wonder if they were just hoping you'd quit so they don't see any future impact on their payroll taxes. some states (maybe all?) scale payroll taxes on businesses partly based on the rate at which a company lays off staff. did your colleagues get the same "offer"?
if an office needs to cut non-partner salaries 50% but keep everyone working FT to stay afloat, they're not going to stay afloat. they're just deluding themselves. sorry you've been hit by this.
Apr 28, 20 6:15 pm ·
·
thisisnotmyname
I feel the same, I suspect the the op's firm has one or more clients that are not paying their bills on time but the firm isn't willing to stop working for them. Unless the clients pay up quickly or some kind of interim funding is secured to keep the firm open, the firm will likely run out of cash.
Apr 28, 20 6:28 pm ·
·
thisisnotmyname
I'm not in NYC, but in my state, the amount of unemployment insurance taxes you pay into the system does increase if you lay off people. An unscrupulous former boss of mine had a tax-saving method where, instead of laying people off, they would fire groups of staff for minor offenses.
Apr 28, 20 6:35 pm ·
·
Chad Miller
I too had an old 'boss' that would do that. I only worked there for a month before all their work dried up. They took me to UI court and spent probably 20 man hours fighting my UI. It was ridiculous. They lost and where fined by the state for false reporting.
Apr 29, 20 4:22 pm ·
·
square.
common indeed. i only realized long after i had been "let go" and (temporarily) handed off to another firm that it wasn't a nice gesture.. it was just a way for the company not to pay unemployment.
Apr 29, 20 5:03 pm ·
·
Chad Miller
This particular firm had gotten in big trouble before for not paying the appropriate amounts into UI for their employees. It almost caused the firm to go bankrupt. Of course I learned this after I had worked there. Basically every employee they let go they try to do it for cause to get them off the hook for paying UI.
Yes please name and shame this firm. $25k is less than minimum wage (since we have apparently assumed OP lives in nyc which he never confirmed or denied)
got hit with a 50% salary cut due to covid19..
so now I am slammed with more work remotely than before the pandemic making minimum wage for 2 months or more. I am wondering if this is even legal under the labor law regardless of the company's profit loss to hit employees with such a hefty salary cut? Seems the company that downsized by cutting employees hours and salary is more rational if I do the math.
50% pay cut = 50% cut in hours worked. unfortunately if you're in a "right to work" state like ny, and an non exempt salaried worker, you can be dicked down as much your employer likes.
sorry to hear that David. why are you doing more work if your company's profits are down? shouldn't more work = more money?
Some other people are sharing their experiences over here:
https://archinect.com/forum/thread/150190332/covid-19-lay-off-thread
according to the company owner in theory, the employees are in good grace of still being employed. In contrast, it's not far off of being taking advantaged of.
just do it for free, it’ll show how passionate you are
passion does not justify unpaid bills and family expenses.
The warm glow of making the world a more beautiful place will keep you toasty while living in your car. We must show Mother Architecture how much we love her.
scarsm is the only anecdote to this ordeal
50% reduction from $0/hr is not really that big a deal.
Not sure where you are located, but NYC has a requirement if you make under a certain amount you get paid overtime. Wondering if that is applicable with your salary cut / where ever you're located.
time to quit
to follow up with all the above responses, I had discussed the issue with the company owner that I need to take up another part time job to compensate for the 50% cut and got let go. I was told that I was required to be on full time making peanuts in order for the company to survive through the outbreak. To sum it up, as long the company makes it the employees are required to suffer.
between unemployment + the extra $600 would you be making more than you are now?
Wouldn't it be funny if the clients found out and demanded that the fees be cut in half?
How on earth would the client find out geezer?? o.O
Anonymous email
I'd just send them a link to this discussion and mention that the firm in question is the the one they have hired to design their building. ;)
Dave - I'm sorry to hear that the firm let you go.
Jeeze, I'm sorry to hear that Dave.
yes 2xs more if I am qualified
work 50% of your pre-covid hours til they fire you, then you can claim unemployment.
You need to name and shame. The way this firm acted is ridiculous and they deserve not to survive. A 20% pay cut is survivable, 50% is not.
jesus christ, you are the most ignorant idiot in history
Balkins, it’s clear you’ve never worked a day in your life. At no point did you make what could be considered a rational thought. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Rick - please shut up you moron. First off making $75k a year in NY city is low and not a livable wage for a family of four. Second in no way are unlicensed staff in NY making $150 k a year.
lol 150k ?? that is in the principle rank and is still not much in comparison to many other industries after payout to uncle sam. I ll just note that after the cut I would be getting less than 25k a year.
nyc legal minimum wage for salaried workers is 58.5k/yr and that's exactly what most junior staff are paid...some, like LTL, pay less.
$3k does not get you that apartment in brooklyn. $75k is nowhere near enough for a family to live on in NYC.
You've literally never worked a day in this field, possibly ever - so frankly, fuck off with the bad advice.
balkans, shut. the. fuck. up.
you have no idea what the rental market is like in nyc, those prices literally don't exist in brooklyn, suburban jersey is more expensive than that even, you have to be at least 1 hour out by metro north or NJ transit to see those prices.
you don't have to know everything or contribute to every thread. accept that your knowledge ends somewhere and be done.
Hey OP - don't think you've been around here for long, so word of advice, you should really just disregard RB's comments across the board.
Sure let’s disregard the experiences of those actually living in NYC right now and take the word of a guy who’s never set foot here and never had to pay rent. Swell.
And you live where the Goonies was filmed. Go do the truffle shuffle and quit derailing conversations where you clearly know nothing about the subject.
Rick's ability to think of hypotheticals far exceeds his ability to gauge their realism.
okay balkins, you absolute fucking idiot, since you need numbers and documents to function and you think you know more than all of us who live/have lived in nyc: the standard income requirement for renting apartments here is 40x the monthly rent annually. meaning to qualify for a $3000/month apartment, you (or you and your roommates combined) would need to earn $120,000/year. look it up, you goddamn imbecile.
As someone who's actually lived in nyc for the last 25 years, and brooklyn for the last 20, I'm really enjoying Balkins ricksplaining to everyone how much things cost here. And I'm imagining him living in one of those apartments in East New York (this involves a lot of cowering behind a door that he's installed 17 deadbolts on) which is possibly the worst neighborhood in Brooklyn (I once had someone throw a brick at me as I rode my bike through ENY, but in fairness that was 20 years ago, and they missed). Although ENY is improving (i.e. gentrifying), and is also probably the best place in Brooklyn to plop down $1M in a real estate investment if you were willing to wait 10-20 years for a great return on your investment.
Oh...and I also had an employee about 7 years ago who lived in ENY, she very occasionally would sleep in the bathtub because she'd heard shots fired on her block at night. I was always amazed she took this in stride.
Holy shit you are so far gone. Too many problems in those statements to even start.
This in a nutshell is the balkinization that happens to just about every thread he touches. He takes some innocuous thing and comments on it trying to show how much he knows but really just shows how little he knows. He gets called out on it, and then doubles down trying to prove that he is correct and the people who know more are obviously wrong because he has google at his fingertips. Then as a way to deflect, he makes it all about himself and his personal situation, or hypothetical situation, and apply it as a broad brush to everyone else. It's Dunning-Kruger meets extreme narcissism and who knows what other phobias.
you live, rent-free and unemployed, in your parents’ house in Oregon. you are a fucking failure and you have no standing to discuss the situations of people who are busting their asses to afford their own lives.
someday, when mommy and daddy are no longer around to give you an allowance and you actually have to work for a living, you will learn that the world doesn’t always adhere to the same logic you do.
Rick, you started this tangent saying that $75k is survivable for a family in NYC. Now you’re saying that unless someone were to offer you $80k-$100k you would tell the to F-off. Which is it? If a family can survive on $75k, surely you alone can make ends meet with the same.
you were never in any danger of being employed by anyone.
my point about you living rent-free and unemployed (which you predictably missed entirely) was that the stakes for you are extremely low. you have no income to lose and no financial obligations, and likely never have. so you have no standing to tell anyone else how the working world should or should not function.
it’s also clear that you’ve never actually been employed, because you never account for income taxes or health insurance in any of your absurd math.
well fuck em. You are better off.
yes
Keep your chin up. I worked for an asshole just like you are describing. It will be a blessing in disguise.
Name the firm please. I would like to email them about their business practices and include a colleague of mine from the department of labor.
well do after the last payment is released.
Cut back on the hours equally and use that time to look for something else.
The OP was let go for not working full hours.
I read it differently. The way I read it, the OP was let go for discussing the need to take on part time work to make ends meet. Firm didn't even let the OP have the chance to work less than full hours.
Good point. That makes the firm even more of a jackass.
Damn, didn't get that far down the thread...that sucks though.
It sucks how they treated you, but by letting you go you can get unemployment which is like $980 a week with the fed money in NYC.... and you don't have to work.
it makes me wonder if they were just hoping you'd quit so they don't see any future impact on their payroll taxes. some states (maybe all?) scale payroll taxes on businesses partly based on the rate at which a company lays off staff. did your colleagues get the same "offer"?
if an office needs to cut non-partner salaries 50% but keep everyone working FT to stay afloat, they're not going to stay afloat. they're just deluding themselves. sorry you've been hit by this.
I feel the same, I suspect the the op's firm has one or more clients that are not paying their bills on time but the firm isn't willing to stop working for them. Unless the clients pay up quickly or some kind of interim funding is secured to keep the firm open, the firm will likely run out of cash.
I'm not in NYC, but in my state, the amount of unemployment insurance taxes you pay into the system does increase if you lay off people. An unscrupulous former boss of mine had a tax-saving method where, instead of laying people off, they would fire groups of staff for minor offenses.
I too had an old 'boss' that would do that. I only worked there for a month before all their work dried up. They took me to UI court and spent probably 20 man hours fighting my UI. It was ridiculous. They lost and where fined by the state for false reporting.
common indeed. i only realized long after i had been "let go" and (temporarily) handed off to another firm that it wasn't a nice gesture.. it was just a way for the company not to pay unemployment.
This particular firm had gotten in big trouble before for not paying the appropriate amounts into UI for their employees. It almost caused the firm to go bankrupt. Of course I learned this after I had worked there. Basically every employee they let go they try to do it for cause to get them off the hook for paying UI.
so what happened Dave P?
This is the firm:
https://archinect.com/virseriusstudio
Attach the stone of shame!
I would not want to own a fancy-pants hospitality design firm right now.
Well ::cracks knuckles:: time to write a letter.
predatory firms don't deserve to make it through the recession
Just sent them a message containing the words unethical, abhorrent, illegal, and disappointment along with a few others.
the odds are high that they will end up in deep trouble financially when their hotel and restaurant clients can't or won't pay their invoices.
Okay, attaching the stone of shame.
I’ve been forced to use that on a project before....
You have my deepest condolences.
So I heard back from Virserius Studio
and???
they got to him before he could reply :(
Citizen wins the internet today.
Here is what they had to say:
"My name is Chi, I handle the marketing/PR for Virserius Studio. Thank you for sending your note; messages sent via the website come to me."
I was personally unaware of this news, but will make sure to forward to management.
I hope you and your family remain healthy and safe.
Chi"
Oh thats good. Real good.
Apparently Chi didn’t get a 50% salary cut ... to they’re lying.
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