I alone have taken care of Mr. Olds for approximately 10yrs. He is quadriplegic with an incontinence problem as well as has almost no use of his hands at all, which gives you an idea of how much care he actually needs day to day. This position has taken up so much of my time I have lost touch with all of my friends, and never really had any contact with any of my family even before I started this position. Besides just caring for Mr. Olds, being on call 24hrs a day every day, my duties consisted of house keeping, laundry, cooking, yard work-front yard and back yard up keep, as well as caring for and feeding his 15 sun conures, 1 green cheek parrot, a cockatiel, an african grey parrot, and 3 tortoises. This really didn't leave much time to care for myself as you could imagine. My compensation for this started at $250 weekly and finished at $300 weekly, which I was supposed to be saving money from as well as living off of for the last 10 years, while they collected an extra $3000-$5000 a year claiming me as an employee during tax season and only gave me an extra $50 from that twice. A couple of weeks ago I was informed that Mr. Olds was going to be moving to a convalescent home and that the position was over. His family moved him out, against his wishes to stay here with me, and informed me that I am to move out immediately, giving me a 30day notice yesterday. I am starting to realize that these people really took me for a ride and just used me for the last 10 years, I never made anything even close to minimum wage and was working 24-7. No breaks, No Time Off, No Vacation, No Sick Time, NOTHING!
I am at a complete loss, I hardly have the means to move someplace, nor do I have any friends or family to turn to... I am hoping there is someone out there that can help me figure out what I can do to help myself from being taken complete advantage of? Something that will help me to move out during this pandemic, because these people don't seem to care that they are about to put me out on the street during a mass world wide pandemic!
Sincerest Regards,
Lost and Scared
You can sue in court for those damages plus other damages that are easily proven in unlawful employment. If I were in your shoes it would take the police and and a signed court order to remove me.
Any dollars now would never be enough. 2 or 3 thousand hours per year for ten years will go a long way to fund your now non existant social security fund. Your ex employer OWES you that social security funding
If you did not have an employment contract with him/them then I would consult an attorney, but you DID agree to the arrangement and your not liking what is happening now doesn't really give you license to punish them. You don't really know why they had to change the situation. Maybe whoever was financing the care has run out of money. If so they probably need to sell the home to pay for his future care. That being said, I'm very sorry for this radical change in your circumstances .
I would start by making sure you know when you must move out. Contact social services about Section 8 housing to see if you qualify. Talk to them about any assistance. You don't say how old you are...? This info would be helpful. I am wishing you all the best as you move out and move on.
I agree with the other to get an employment attorney, and I advise contacting the labor board.
My heart aches for you and the situation you now find yourself in.
I hope that you saved a lot of that money--$1200 a month for what you did is pratically indentured servitude. I'm sure you just went with the roll all these years, working and caring for Mr Olds and all his creatures---of course, NOW you realize you were seriously underpaid all this time, but that is not very helpful.
I think your best bet, if there even is one, is to contact an attorney and get advice as to what to do. Without a contract with this family--you'd probably better prepare yourself to be a cautionary tale about what not to do--and I don't mean that in a mean way. You were just being a great employee and very likely the family either abused your good nature or simply never thought about things like vacations, sick leave, time off, etc.
If you never complained or brought up the inequity of what you were doing and the poor pay-they could very likely have thought you were perfectly happy. You don't speak of a relationship with this family. IS there one member you can speak freely with? Or are you on a business-only relationship with them?
I will hope for the best for you--that you can minially get some kind of severance pay--good luck with this. Caregiving is one of the most underappreciated jobs in the world!
So sorry you are in this situation.
.