Terminated

I would follow up with the dept. of labor - I am working with the EEOC currently and have found them very good to work with. Albeit you might not see anything, but you get a certain amount of pleasure and pride for sticking up for yourself and not being walked upon!
 
Anyone else catch the fact that this was his friend?

Horrible that he'd do that to you, I'm sure you'll come up with something soon. Plenty of places out there needing flight instructors right now.

Good luck.
 
Ian J said:
I was on the OP's side 100% until I saw the sales comparison. It got me thinking. What's the real difference between flight instructing and a 100% commission sales job? Both can be W2 employees. How is it okay for commission-based sales jobs to operate legally but somehow this type of flight instructing job is bad?

Not that I'm against the OP or anything - as a former contract flight instructor where I relied on nobody but me to get students and as a former medical device sales rep the subject just piqued my interest.
Click to expand...

Even at jobs where commission or tips is how you make your wages, the company must make up the difference if you don't make minimum wage. I'm way to lazy to look up the statue right now though
 
Weird. Why in the heck would a chief pilot want a bunch of bored CFI's sitting around the office?

Hell, if I didn't have any students, I was in the storage room playing "Street Fighter 2" or shooting the crap down at the pilot shop.
 
jskibo said:
If he was considered a 1099 guy likely yes, company employee likely not. Could ask my attorney wife later tonight but she's not a labor specialist
Click to expand...
Totally illegal unless he is a salaried employee. I think it is doubtful, that the IRS would consider him a contact labor if he is told when, what, and how the scope of work/contract is to be performed.
You could drop a dime on him to the IRS/ department of labar. Also get an attorney.

Unpaid work is in almost untenable position especially if it is for profit. They take advantage of those that won't resist.
 
Kudos to you for not having an outburst. That whole situation sounds unbelievably frustrating. They did you a favor by allowing you to seek employment elsewhere. Good luck.
 
I got terminated from a CFI position due to not shoveling snow for free, really bummed me out, but in hindsight, was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Took a non-flying position for a couple months to save rent and did a little CFI'ing on the side. Got a pretty solid salaried CFI gig soon after. It's all doom and gloom now, but in hindsight it will just be a minor hiccup.
 
Unfortunately this kind of thing goes on way too often. From not getting paid for your ground time to the random janitorial type work that cfi's are asked to do without compensation. Hopefully this will turn out to be a blessing in disguise and you will find something better. I too would like to know who the offending party is as they do not deserve to have quality cfi's amongst their ranks. Good on ya for standing up for yourself!
 
This thread is bringing back horrific memories of the mid 80's for me. Squeeze their sack a little harder in my honor please! Don't give up. I remember sometimes working for 50 hours and bringing home 125 bucks.
 
I was never required to be at work while not scheduled with a student at my CFI gig. It kind of had the opposite effect. I figured I could surf JetCareers on the wifi at work just as easy as I could at home, so I spent a fair amount of time at work when I didn't need to be there. I wasn't asked or expected to do anything, but every once in a while I was a nice guy and answered the phone if the receptionist had stepped away, gave a prospective student a tour, or whatever. I wasn't trying to brown nose or kiss anyone's behind, I just enjoyed behing an airport /fbo/hangar bum more than sitting at home watching The Price Is Right.
 
Van_Hoolio said:
I was never required to be at work while not scheduled with a student at my CFI gig. It kind of had the opposite effect. I figured I could surf JetCareers on the wifi at work just as easy as I could at home, so I spent a fair amount of time at work when I didn't need to be there. I wasn't asked or expected to do anything, but every once in a while I was a nice guy and answered the phone if the receptionist had stepped away, gave a prospective student a tour, or whatever. I wasn't trying to brown nose or kiss anyone's behind, I just enjoyed behing an airport /fbo/hangar bum more than sitting at home watching The Price Is Right.
Click to expand...
And you weren't working per se, but if the opportunity to work arose, you could easily be at work. Big difference legally speaking.
 
A guy that I'm familiar with, but didn't know personally said:

"but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead; I press toward the goal......".

Onward and upward my friend. All is well.

Blue skies.




atp
 
The place I instructed at over a decade ago try to have the same policy. I too didn't play that game and got talked too a couple of times about it. It just gave me more motivation to find a better job. WHen I did and turning my letter the owner said I was done immediately and not in 2 weeks. Hang in there, keep looking and you will find something better. Know what you are worth and don't let people take advantage of you.
 
jskibo said:
If he was considered a 1099 guy likely yes, company employee likely not. Could ask my attorney wife later tonight but she's not a labor specialist
Click to expand...


If he is a 1099 guy, then he is contract, and they can not dictate what he can and can't do, that would make him an employee. My brother is going through a battle with this as we speak. He has an attourney, and after listening to what makes an employee, and what makes a contractor, the moment the require you to be somewhere, then you are an employee. You must be paid for your services, whether it's sitting there waiting for a customer, or up flying an airplane with a student.
 
I never thought that I would be stabbed in the back like this, drug through the mud, and be the target of possibly slanderous and libelous words.
Click to expand...

welcome in the real world!

happen to me many times and to many guys I know too.best way is fly around and look for a new job while you work.always look for a job even when you have a job.

I did that and found a job for skydivers 2 weeks after being "employed". I quit my school the next day and took some of their students. found a rental plane, and run my own school + skydiving the week end.it became the dream job as i was my own boss.
 
jhugz said:
I got terminated from a CFI position due to not shoveling snow for free, really bummed me out, but in hindsight, was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Took a non-flying position for a couple months to save rent and did a little CFI'ing on the side. Got a pretty solid salaried CFI gig soon after. It's all doom and gloom now, but in hindsight it will just be a minor hiccup.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and look at you now. You fly ragged out ariplanes, and smeel of cheap wemen and beer all the time. Horrible life, eh?
 
FWIW, it is illegal for an employer to require you to be at work unpaid. So if you are only paid flight/ground time, it's not legal
 
This same thing happened to me except they got pissed that I was renting a twin on my off time and told me I couldnt fly any other airplanes except theirs. Still tell their instructors that to this day. CP was a friend and my instructor for all my ratings hurt pretty bad. 1099 also, made us ask for days off, 1 day off a week, required to stay, go to " customer appreciation parties" as well as made us go to a 70 year old couples super bowl party because they leased back an airplane to us....Also were required to stay after work once a week to wash planes for free to "help the team". Got a higher pay job with benefits the next day with 2 HARD days off a week. I could write for days
 
Can we get the name of this school so others don't make the same mistake. We should start a new section where we as pilot black list schools that take advantage of employees. Maybe if the word gets out to enough CFI's we can change the way schools do business.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top