question about informal arrangements (employee, non-profit, payment, owner)

[blazejen]

I'm looking for input on this situation...

My friend went to work for a horse stable and was working off board for herself and her horses. She was working approximately 60 hours/wk at $10/hr and was paid $150/wk after deducting living expenses. (In the industry, they call this a "working student" position.) Everything was going great - the owners said she was doing an excellent job, etc. They said that no one had ever come in and just taken responsibility for things the way she had, etc. Last week she went to tell one of the barnowners that it was not working out and that she wanted to give them a minimum of 2 weeks' notice, she was sorry, etc. and the barnowner said, "I don't feel things are equal. We thought this was going to be long-term, which is the only reason we paid you. You need to stay and work [unpaid] until you have paid us back your salary," and said she'd look at everything and let her know how much time this would be in the next few days.

I told her to pack her stuff and go home. Do not pass go, etc. Which she did. In the meantime, they have put a stop payment on her last check and somehow her bank is debiting the check before that (she was paid at the end of the week she had just worked), as well (which I didn't think was possible, as it had already cleared). Anyway, not a significant amount of money, but I'm wondering if she has any recourse. I know this barn has numerous 'working students' and I don't know if they qualify as employees from a legal standpoint. There weren't any benefits, worker's comp, etc. and no agreements were signed. Oddly, I think this is the norm for these 'working student' gigs. My advice to her is to make sure to get a signed agreement up front, but in this scenario, is there any way for her to get the last two checks back? And, in the future, if she wants to be a working student again, are these barn owners supposed to provide worker's comp or are they even bound by traditional employer/employee sorts of relationships?

TIA.

[kodaka]

She should contact the state's department of labor, who can go after unpaid wages on her behalf. These things take quite a bit of time to resolve, so it will probably be several months, though before it gets all worked out.

Regardless of what term the industry uses, your friend was not a student. Not as defined by the department of labor or the IRS. A worker is defined as someone who produces work in exchange for compensation of some kind. Compensation can be in the form of wages, or a combination of room and board and wages. A worker does not have to receive healthcare coverage or retirement benefits or other benefits to be considered a worker.

Workman's compensation is a not really a 'benefit' provided by the employer. It is a benefit provided by the state. There are a few exceptions to who is covered, but it is defined by the type of organization, not by how the worker was paid, and I don't think the horse barn would qualify. Unless they've been classified as a non-profit for some reason. But since coverage is provided by the state, its not something the employer would identify or disclose to its workers as a 'benefit'.

[SouthBound47]

kodaka is right, as for the check... Checks can be cashed without clearing. That's obviously what happened, the bank will NOT take the loss. It has nothing to do with bank whether it was right or wrong, and she won't get anywhere with the bank.