It happens that fast.

[Sapper740]

What field are you in?
PM if you want.

No, I don't mind getting my CV out for all to see. In a nutshell I've been an Electrical Construction Superintendent most of the last 20 odd years and ran jobs for a couple of Electrical Contractors. The projects ranged from medium to very large, the last BIG project I worked on was the Capital Development Plan at DFW airport when we built Terminal D, the Automated People Mover and the new hotel. After building, repairing and/or expanding a few data centers, I realized that was where I wanted to work, out of the heat and humidity. I shopped my skills around and found a great job at my last company. We kept the data center where I worked a 68 degrees and it was wonderful! My position was a contract position, renewed annually but I had proven my worth there several times and actually felt quite secure in my position as a data center operator. Silly me!

 

[RACER X]

How long were you there?

 

[Vaquero]

No, I don't mind getting my CV out for all to see. In a nutshell I've been an Electrical Construction Superintendent most of the last 20 odd years and ran jobs for a couple of Electrical Contractors. The projects ranged from medium to very large, the last BIG project I worked on was the Capital Development Plan at DFW airport when we built Terminal D, the Automated People Mover and the new hotel. After building, repairing and/or expanding a few data centers, I realized that was where I wanted to work, out of the heat and humidity. I shopped my skills around and found a great job at my last company. We kept the data center where I worked a 68 degrees and it was wonderful! My position was a contract position, renewed annually but I had proven my worth there several times and actually felt quite secure in my position as a data center operator. Silly me!

Want to travel?
North America.

 

[Sapper740]

I'd file an EEO complaint and did so myself. Win or lose, it becomes a permanent record on that company. It sounds like they illegally sacked you in favor of minority people. Your age is probably a factor, too. If you let it go....they get away with it.

Flash

That is being considered as an option. I'm waiting to see who they hire to replace me and how good a job he/she does. I have many friends in every department there who have told me they will surreptitiously keep me posted.

Being that I was a contractor, I may be out of luck on a EEO complaint but in my favor is that I got my job through direct contact with two of the Facility Managers. They interviewed me, they hired me, but to get around paying me benefits they used a "pass-through" system on payment. I was given a list of companies to choose from to process my pay which I did.....but I was hired by, took my direction from, and only had contact with the company I worked for. Only a lawyer could tell me if that makes a difference or not.

 

[Sapper740]

Want to travel?
North America.

The world is my onion! LOL! I hope to be gainfully employed soon in my beloved Texas.

 

[Sapper740]

How long were you there?

5 years and two months.

 

[Sapper740]

My heart goes out to you but I hold out hope. If there's anybody sharp enough to overcome a setback like this, it's you.

Thank you for the kind words Ben, bless you!

 

[karlac]

Being that I was a contractor, I may be out of luck on a EEO complaint but in my favor is that I got my job through direct contact with two of the Facility Managers. They interviewed me, they hired me, but to get around paying me benefits they used a "pass-through" system on payment. I was given a list of companies to choose from to process my pay which I did.....but I was hired by, took my direction from, and only had contact with the company I worked for. Only a lawyer could tell me if that makes a difference or not.

Just in the off chance you are not familiar with this. Last company I ran we became very familiar with it:

http://www.texasworkforce.org/ui/tax/forms/c8.pdf

 

[benenglish]

Standard IANAL disclaimer applies.

I was given a list of companies to choose from to process my pay which I did.....but I was hired by, took my direction from, and only had contact with the company I worked for. Only a lawyer could tell me if that makes a difference or not.

Originally this was called "employee leasing" and got a bad name due to some very abusive operators out there. As a general principle, it doesn't matter if you were told you were contract or not, if you thought you were contract or not. The question of whether you were an employee is a matter of law.

But it's not that easy.

The Department of Labor has a definition of "employee" that's different from the IRS definition that's different from...etc, etc, etc.

If you want an IRS determination that says you were an employee (and, for tax purposes, absolutely trumps any contract you or the company thought was in force), you can file an SS-8 ( http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf ) and wait a minimum of 6 months for a response.

If they determine that you were an employee of the company you worked for and not of one of the "list of companies to choose from to process...pay", then that's a big deal. Those processing companies are supposed to provide your on-job instructions in order for you to be considered their legal employee. If the site-specific company makes the rules, changes them at will, and you're subject to that, then you're an employee of the company that gave you directions.

If things work out that way, you'll be fighting two companies - your real employer and your "on-paper" employer. It can be a ridiculous mess. There are some basics here: Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee? That page is aimed at employers but there's good information for someone like you who may have gotten ground up in a mis-determination of employee vs. contractor.

One aside - Employee Leasing companies (or Professional Employer Organizations, or whatever they call themselves these days) often adopt a cruel strategy to prove that they are the real employer of a person in a situation such as you describe for yourself. Since the ultimate power of an employer is the power to fire somebody, they'll let perfectly good employees go after 2 or 3 years. Sometimes, after that person is gone for a year, they'll even try to recruit them back to the same position. It's just a way for that "list of companies to choose from to process...pay" to legally be able to prove that all the people out there working for other companies but getting paid by them are actually their employees, despite the fact that in the real world that's the furtherest thing from the truth. They can say "He must have been my employee; we fired him. If he was the employee of the company on site, we would never have been able to do that." And, with that line of reasoning, they usually win.

There are also some statutory exceptions to these principles that have been written into the law as a result of lobbying, some of which make no sense whatsoever and completely violate the concept that an employee is an employee by a legal definition, contracts be damned.

In short, it's an area of law that's very screwed up. Good luck if you decide to dive into that morass.

However, if you're thinking of doing so, file that SS-8 now. It doesn't hurt anything to get the determination process started.

 

[Sapper740]

Just in the off chance you are not familiar with this. Last company I ran we became very familiar with it:

http://www.texasworkforce.org/ui/tax/forms/c8.pdf

Interesting. By just about every test I was an "employee". Thanks for posting that link, it will prove quite useful.

 

[itchin]

The company that is paying you may have had you sign an agreement that the work was temporary (hence temp agency).

 

[Sapper740]

There are also some statutory exceptions to these principles that have been written into the law as a result of lobbying, some of which make no sense whatsoever and completely violate the concept that an employee is an employee by a legal definition, contracts be damned.

In short, it's an area of law that's very screwed up. Good luck if you decide to dive into that morass.

However, if you're thinking of doing so, file that SS-8 now. It doesn't hurt anything to get the determination process started.

I just took a look at the SS-8 form you posted a link to as well as karlac's link "Employment Status - A Comparative Approach". I feel very confident that by any definition, I was an "Employee" although getting a court to decide that in my favor is only half the battle. The other half is then getting a verdict that I was unjustly terminated. If the person who replaces me is incompetent, and/or unskilled to properly do the very technical work that I was responsible for, then I will proceed with the complaint as my termination was obviously to effect some sort of Affirmative Action.

 

[Sapper740]

The company that is paying you may have had you sign an agreement that the work was temporary (hence temp agency).

As it was originally explained to me by the Company's Facilities Manager I was to be subject to contracts that would be renewed annually. There was never a mention of a set number of years and it was intimated to me that the contracts would be renewed ad infinitum as long as I continued to meet their expectations. I was told this was simply to avoid having to pay me benefits, Holiday Pay or other PTO. The first Facility Manager was replaced after about a year there and the new FM told me he attempted to put me on two year contracts but was not allowed to by Corporate. Those comments as well as many others praising my work and work ethic led me to believe I would in all likelihood end my working days there. That is why my termination came as a complete shock to me and my fellow workers. Our facilities team won several awards during my time there for the many upgrades and capital projects that we worked on successfully with no interruptions or time lost. The only thing that makes any sense to me about losing my job is that it is for "Diversity".