If I am a subcontractor can the company I work with hold money from me?
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If I am a subcontractor can the company I work with hold money from me?
I am a subcontractor for a transportation company. When I first started I had all intentions to buy the vehicle I use and pay the company with in 3 months. I did not make enough to
pay them and asked for a different contract to be drawn up with a specific payment schedule outlined. Their response to me was just pay for the car as soon as you can. They then proceed
to deduct $250 in payments each week without my consent. Until this week when I did not receive a payment at all. Are they allowed to deduct these payments without my consent? I have given them options for a new contract and nothing new has been signed by both parties.
Asked on June 24, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Wisconsin
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, they cannot withhold payments due to you for work you did without your consent, whether you are an employee (the labor laws prohibit withholding employee compensation without employee consent) or a contractor/subcontractor (the relationship between you and the company employing you is a contractual one, even if that contract is oral or unwritten; neither party may change it, such as by changing the obligation to pay you, without the other party's consent). Since you state you are a subcontractor, it is unlikely that the state labor department will help you; to get the money you are owed, you would have to sue the company for breach of contract, or violating their contractual obligation to pay you as previously agreed.
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