Howdy y’all. I’ve posted a few times previously about my desire to join the trades. Well, I’ve found a job with a framing crew I just have to clear everything up with my current office job and I’m out. However, the gentleman who offered me the job said I’ll start out $7 an hour “cash”. I took that be under the table. Is this normal? I’m a very by-the-book kinda guy and this makes me a little skeptical as to what I’m getting into.
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Becareful! Under the table also means no insurance if you get hurt. As well as if the tax man comith you be screweth.
If at first you don't succeed...try again! After that quit! No sense being a dam fool about it! W.C.Fields
unless you intend to join the underground economy, never work for cash...
and don't work for this gibbroni either.. he is working off the books.. neither you nor his customers are protected.. he's a cheat and a scumbag...
what state do you live in ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
send it to the orriginal poster.
He's the one who is asking.If at first you don't succeed...try again! After that quit! No sense being a dam fool about it! W.C.Fields
My gut feeling was telling me the same thing as you guys but I was willing to go for it anyway. Not any more. I live in W PA. I want everything on the up-and-up. I guess I'll keep looking.
Sounds like a bad deal to me.
First, $7 an hour is awfully low. Around here you can make that flipping burgers at McDonald's. And this is a rural area.
Working for cash is also a bad deal. If you need to apply for unemployment at a later date, that night mess things up.
I'd tell the guy to stick his offer.
Skydiving-good to the last drop.
Not to contradict everyone. They have a valid point but he may be starting you out as day labor or under casual labor rules to get you a taste of the work. While probably technically illegal in this usage it is a pretty common practice. He might be thinking you will soon cut and run when exposed to the rough side of construction.
If this goes on for more than a few days, a week at the outside, and assuming you still want to to this sort of work you need to get on the books. If the guy won't officially hire you the previous posters are right. He's taking advantage of you.
Try tellling him your "cash" price is $24/hr. Then you go buy insurance and pay your taxes out of that.
Excellence is its own reward!
Is $7 even minimum wage? I thought $15/hour was really low whe I was visiting friends in Florida 10 years ago....that's not a mistake, it's rustic
It may not be minum wage, but it sure as heck gets you way below the goverment poverty line.
4LORN, I would have to say whatever his intent is "aint legal." I use to hire day labors from the local unemployment/employment office for $5.00/hr back in the early eighties. I carried WC, but did not need to withhold Fed. state, or local taxes on then unless I was going to exceed $600.00 in gross wages for any of them. I had to provide 1099 tax statements for all of them at the end of the year. I did all of that through the employment office so I could stay squeaky clean with all the taxing authorities.
Sounds like this guy is trying to screw BUTLERBOW and Uncle Sam.
$7.00 per hour whether cash or on the books still puts you in a tax bracket that you shouldn't need to worry about paying at the end of the year. The Hispanic day laborers that stand on the street corner charge $8-10 hour plus lunch and pick up and delivery. If you get hurt, he is still liable for workers comp. But that becomes a nightmare. He can fire you for no apparent reason and you have no recourse. Do you want to give up your "good" job for 1-2 or more of maybe work. Remember, if it rains, most guys don't work in this industry, depending on the trade. Most employers don't pay overtime either. Does your current boss?. If this new boss is paying you under the table, he is probably saving no more than 25% of $7.00. So whats that, $1.75 or $70 a week. I can't believe he is talking that kind of a risk. One oops on a job will cost him over $500 in medical. If he doesn't have workers comp, the doctor's office can charge whatever the want.
"$7.00 per hour whether cash or on the books still puts you in a tax bracket that you shouldn't need to worry about paying at the end of the year. "
Wrong. Depending on his filing status he will probably owe some income taxes.
BUT, even more important is SELF-EMPLOYEEMENT taxes. He would have to pay both the employee and employer portion, 15%, on the FIRST DOLLAR.
I think that it came out wrong. The "boss" would need to pay the 1/2 the SSI tax, workers comp, plus a few others. The "employee" would pay his share, and yes, it does possibly put him an area of taxable income, depending on deductions. I realize that there is room for interpretation on all taxes and the amounts in this area, but this is a non specific question that was asked. We are all here to put our opinion in to enable him to make a decision. No one is trying to give bad info, but we see it in different ways than others. They point I was trying to make is that even if the boss pays 15% employment tax, 20% workers comp, plus the others, it still does not benefit the employee in this area and most other employers are paying that much themselves and/or more for their employees. If the "boss" has to play the game like this to just make it through to the next job, then he probably is not is a sound financial state to be hiring someone else. In California, if you hire a person and do not report them to workers comp and they are injured, the employee is still eligible for workers comp AND the employee may have grounds to sue the employer for additional damages since he did not have the employee on the policy at the time. Had he been on the policy at the time, only normal workers comp rules apply. This is what was told to me when I was preparing to take my Contractors License test 18 years ago and I don't believe the rules have changed since.
My personal feeling is that this guy is getting himself into a positional of being a grunt at his expense of "learning" a trade. If the guy is worth his own weight, you usually know within a day or two. Why quit another job for the possibility of a unknown? Maybe there is another way to learn, like working part time for someone else on the weekends first. I have hired guys like this in the past and some work out and some don't, including some that thought they were going to be God's gift to the industry and could not figure out why you let them go. Just don't let them touch the power tools and keep them safe(as always) until your sure.
Hope you all have a great day (or evening if your on the East coast)
As I recall US currency (cash) is the only legal tender. Your employeer has the right to pay you cash and you have no right to refuse it.
I have worked a lot of jobs where payment was in cash. At year end I received a W-2 with my income grossed up for the FICA, W-4 withholding, and whatever other benefits the employer was required to report.
I run a loose shop. People get paid when they want to be paid. They get paid in the manner they want.
If your possible employeer was attempting to violate state or federal laws, I don't know.