More about Texas Air Corps, Inc. dba CERT Emergency Services
Well, Texas Air Corps, Inc. dba CERT Emergency Services is at it again.
I am trying to be patient and accommodating, and all I get is flack.
Here’s a little history.
I went to work for the company back in July. After I had been working there for a week or so, I heard a rumor that they were haveing problems meeting payroll obligations. Ok, being the way that I am, I confronted the Director of Operations, Carrie Haltom, and asked her about it. She told me then that there was a small problem and that it should be resolved by the and of August.
I happen to like the company at the time, so I decided to hang and see what happened.
Well, needless to say, Since that time, I have received five actual paychecks out of nine. The first one only had a days pay on it .. so there weren’t any issues with it other then being paid almost two week late. (I should have quit then.)
The second, though again being paid late was ok.
The third and fourth were significantly SHORT in hours and yet again late being paid.
The third one I deposited in my bank account, having been told that there was sufficient funds to cover the check, and paid my bills. Then I get notice from the bank that the check bounced! I complained to the company on both the shortage and the bounce and they were less then enthusiastic about resolving the issue. (Now I am seriously think I should have quit and filed against them. But I didn’t because I had been told that they were expecting all the payroll problems to be resolved in a couple of weeks.)
After the fourth check was issued and also short, I got more insistent about resolving the shortage issue of both checks because I had never heard back from Carrie Haltom regarding my issue on the previous check. Only this time I CC’d the VP Steve Bowman.
So we arrange to meet and because I forgot to log the hours on the first shortage, they determined that they were not obligated to pay me for them. However, they did agree to pay me for the second shortage, including overtime, because Carrie Haltom showed the hours in her spreadsheet, but claimed that the formula in one of the cells was not calculating correctly.
The fifth check I received took me several days to get cashed and that was going to their bank every morning just to find out they did not have sufficient funds in the account to cover the check!
Anyway, I told the company on two separate occasions that I was not longer available to be scheduled until the payroll issue was resolved. Once, I went back on that because Carrie Haltom needed to be in court and no one else would cover her shift, so I was accommodating and covered for her.
On 12/7 I got back from a religious retreat with my son to have an email waiting for me stating that there was a rumor that Texas Air Corps, Inc. and it subsidiary CERT Emergency Services was up for sale and that they were talking to a potential buyer.
Being the person that I am, I do not put my faith in rumors, so I sent Steve Bowman an email asking about it. After not hearing back from either Mr. Bowman nor from Floyd William Parrott, CEO/Owner, I called and left a voice mail on Mr. Bowman’s cell phone demanding communication. So I get an email from Mr. Bowman stating that Mr. Parrott was having email problems. (I doubt that this is the case, but I responded to Mr. Bowman, here is an excerpt of that email:
“I will offer you (TAC/CERT) this, if you can offer me a acceptable resolution, put it in writing (e-mail is sufficient) as to the time line for resolution then I will not take further action. If I haven’t heard back from you in 24 hours, I will assume that you are not willing to resolve this issue in a timely manner and I will take all necessary actions to insure that I am appropriately compensated.
I have been trying to resolve this issue in good-faith, TAC/CERT has not. I am done playing games with this. It is now 1712 .. you have until 1730 tomorrow, December 10th, 2009 to make your offer.”
Well, needless to say, they missed the deadline. however, I did get a response from Mr. Bowman today in which he said:
“We regret the delay and missing your self-imposed timeline, but it has never been a high priority of this company to expedite communications with ex-employees…”
And this is the first time that I have been informed that I am no longer an employee of CERT. Ok, I’ll bite, what is my termination date?
He continues to state:
“It has also never been a policy to reply to threats and ultimatums from an employee who deserts our patients and could have caused ill harm to our patients not once but twice.”
Now, I start to take great offense, because I have NEVER deserted a patient! And I DEMAND that they prove this. This is SLANDER !!
According to my attorney, I can only be considered to have deserted a patient if the patient was in my care and I left the scene or did not properly turn over patient care. OR if I showed up for my shift and left prior to my shift being completed with patients still needing care, but that was stretching it. Neither of these have EVER been done.
He further states:
“As for you being “very patient and accommodating” concerning your payroll, it could better be summed up as demanding and threatening. To accommodate your demands in the past, management has delivered your check to you (after you failed to pick t up as agreed) and has stayed up late so you can pick up your pay. There have also been pay advances made to you from personal accounts to help you in your times of need.”
Your damned right I am being demanding! But in the same breath, I have been extremely patient in that I have not taken any legal action YET!
Finally he writes:
“Once you return all the company property in your possession – at a date and time amenable to both parties – you will receive your final paycheck as per our company policy. After said meeting you can take whatever further action you consider appropriate.”
Like I need his permission to take further action! And per their company policy?! Does he mean to say that they intend to pay me what they OWE me? I will believe it when I see it.
Let me show you something; it is called the Texas Labor Code, Chapter 61 in which TAC/CERT has violated numerous parts of it.
The LAW is that an employer is to pay in a timely manner, not less than twice per month Title 2, Sec. 61.011(b). TAC/CERT has been up to FOUR pay cycles behind. That is a full two months.
TAC/CERT is also in violation of Title 2, Sec. 61.014(b) in that the next regularly scheduled payday has come and gone since I “Left” the company and the paycheck has not been issued.
TAC/CERT is also in violation of Sec. 61.016(a)(2) in that TAC/CERT has issued payroll checkS KNOWING that they would not clear the bank!
Now let talk about CRIMINAL citations: Sec. 61.019(a)(1) TAC/CERT is GUILTY because when they hired ME, they avoided telling me about the payroll issues the company was having. This was evident when I approached Carrie Haltom and she confirmed that the complications with payroll had started BEFORE I was hired on and nothing was said about it until I heard a rumor and confirmed it.
Sec. 61.019(a)(2) TAC/CERT is GUILTY because they have failed to pay wages due upon demand.
And did you know that according to Sec. 61.019(c) and Sec. 61.019(d) each person AND each pay period that they have failed to meet payroll obligations is a separate offense and that the offense is a 3rd Degree FELONY?
All thsi can really be summed up in one sentence; If TAC/CERT would have paid me on time and in full this would not be an issue.
What concerns me is that I have heard that I have heard that they have hired more people .. are they going to get paid?
And that is another thing, Floyd William Parrott made a comment in an meeting he held with all the employees, I think it was in October, that as far as he was concerned, any ex-employees were going to be the LAST people that he paid.
Finally, when Carrie Haltom hired me, I told her then that I was a fiercely loyal employee. But once I was screwed by an employer, I would not stop hounding them until justice was served. And she STILL hired me! I guess she thought I was joking.
Let the hounding begin !!
get after them thes type of people like this are waht is destoring the county