<p>My son is very responsible, hard working, and completed his freshman year at college with a respectable 3.0 GPA. He advised us in April that he would like to rent a sublet in a North East college town for the summer with a couple friends. My wife and I discussed it and thought it would be a good oprutunity for him to grow and experience the real world by paying rent, food, and expenses. We pay his college tuition and room and board in full, he is responsible for his spending money which he has covered his freshman year without issue.
After we gave him our blessings, he notified his boss who hires him each summer to help with his landscaping business (500 bucks a week clear). My son has an incredible work ethic, he worked for his old boss temporarily in May for two weeks to cover his rent in full. During the spring while still in school he conducted skype inetrviews with a number of companies in the area where he and his friends are currently subletting, he secured a job at Colleg Pro Painting (he was warned about his company) for 10 dollars an hour. He has been employed by them for two weeks working eleven hours a day, showing up on time, and working hard, he is also hauling the paint supplies and ladders in our mini-van to job sites. He called me last night extremely discouraged and confirmed he has not been paid yet, although he has asked the foreman repeated times, he was told that his frist paycheck would be in another week. He reluctantly confirmed he is broke and asked me for a loan (I sent him 300.00 bucks) for food and gas. He is anxiously awaiting his paycheck and knows at this rate he will never save the college spending money he needs and is responsible for. He said he is trying to look for another job but feels trapped based on the local summer job market being bad and not having the time to look based on his current work day.</p>
<p>I looks like he has learned some valuable lessons, but my wife and I are preparing ourselves
for the potential bail-out. Any suggestions on how we should handle this situation ?? It is not like he is not trying, but he did give a great opportunity up to live it up with his buddies and have fun.</p>
<p>Maybe someone else has had a bad experience, but I would expect that College Pro will pay him. No doubt, it is extremely hard work. We had them paint our previous house one summer.</p>
<p>So I am confused about his “repeated” questions about his paycheck. I would assume there is a regular payday/pay period for College Pro. Probably every two weeks, but ONE request of “what are the regular payday dates” ought to take care of answering that queston. A lot of kids don’t realize that (1) they may have to wait 2-3 weeks for their first check, and (2) taxes will likely be withheld, so it may not be as large as they expected.</p>
<p>Are they expecting him to work more than 5 days a week?</p>
<p>It seems they have been working 6 days a week, my son confirmed tha pay period of every two weeks and his hourly wage before he started work (this is his third week). No doubt College Pro does a good job painting houses, kids like my son are working delingently for them as summer help. He was warned by a couple of friends parents about working for them, they confirmed some foreman take advantage of the help by working them hard and not paying them in full.</p>
<p>The post is really about if we should bail him out if he does not get paid in full for his work hours, based on his explanation both him and his freind sense that something is not right.</p>
<p>He needs to document his hours- keep them in a written log if he can- and make sure he is paid in full. If the foreman refuses, there is recourse. He can go to the company president, with your guidance. I don’t think I’d let it pass if he isn’t paid. If the foreman is scimming part of their wages, the boss should know and make good on his word.
I agree with inparent that he probably will be paid. I’d continue to encourage him to do his best, and I would have no problem with floating him a loan until the paycheck arrives.</p>
<p>I would bail him out and give him the minimum he needs to get by, and sympathize with what happened. This is why one needs financial cushions in life. He seemed to have done what he could do in terms of paying rent in advance, etc.</p>
<p>My kids work at a place where if you miss the payroll submission by even an instant, your first paycheck won’t be available for 4 weeks. They do payroll every two weeks, and that is it. If you miss it, you have to wait until the next 2 week period, and they only cover up to a few days before the that payroll submission date. This year, my kids got a paycheck quickly because they had their first few days in the system when they did payroll. Last year, they got checks for $0.00 the first time around. </p>
<p>Unless you can afford it and/or the job is really worth it, I don’t recommend doing what you did. They’ll get experience soon enough with this. It’s not easy to save any much money when you have to pay for living expenses and if that is supposed to go for college expenses next year, you are basically paying for the live on your own experience. My kids are going to make about $8k, maybe more the way it’s going right now, living at home and that makes a decent dent in the college costs. One was offered an excellent internship opportunity that I would have loved for him to take but it would not have netted him any money. It would have been an experience he/we paid for him to have. Still would have done it had he not wanted to go with friends on a road trip (road trip vs great internship opportunity, and road trip won, sigh), but for him to stay at college and pay rent and expenses even if he got a similar job opportunities as he has locally would not have netted him as much money. Not even close.</p>
<p>I agree with cptofthehouse, if it comes to it, and I was in your shoes, I would probably bail him out this time. He tried to get a job in good faith, he’s been holding up his end of the bargain by going to work and working hard. </p>
<p>I don’t think you did the wrong thing letting him go for this, it’s a good experience, it’s what he wanted to do, and since it’s his first summer the lack of an internship is probably not going to do him any permanent harm. But he made a mistake, he’s learning from it, he’ll be more careful next time. </p>
<p>Though I also agree with intparent, they’re probably going to pay him eventually. I know in the govenrment, when you first start, you have to wait two pay periods before you get your first pay check (or have your benefits kick in), and the pay period is two weeks. Of course, that’s to allow OPM processing, so I don’t know what the painting company’s excuse is.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replys. Update-My son called my wife and told her he tried to talk to his boss and he blew him off, my son told him based on the way he is being treated and based on the issues at hand not being addressed that he quit his job. He asked my wife not to tell me because he wanted to explain the situation to me face to face. Surprise my son shows up at 7:30 pm last night (fathers day) explained the situation, and told both us he is working for the landscaper during the week and commuting back to his sublet to hang out with his friends on the weekends and look for another job in the area. He wanted to make sure that we knew he had a plan to try to meet his savings goal. To say the least I was speechless, I could tell it was hard for him to admit his misfortune, but his determination and alternate plan surprised the heck out of me. I told him that based on his actions I was extremely proud of him the way he has handled things.
I asked him if he thinks he will get paid for all the hours he worked for the painting company. He confirmed that he will, I asked him how he was so sure, he said my friend and I know where he lives…speechless again…one step forward…two steps backward…AAAARGH…</p>