i am no longer ungainfully employed as a nanny.

From what I have seen you have been in a very unfortunate situation and you have been used and taken advantage of. I think you are better off now and down the road you will realize it.

As far as money goes forget it. if you took them to court you need to pay a lawyer and what would you get? Did you have a written contract or if it was verbal do you have witnesses who could testify? Even if you get a judgement against them basically it's worth the same as toilet paper. Then you have to hire an investigator to search for assets they might have.Individuals are very limited as far as recouping things. You can't garnish wages or seize property or attach accounts. You might be able to put a lien like a mechanics lean on their property if they own any and get something when they sell if they ever do and have equity in the property.

I would just chalk it up to experience and move on with your life.

thank you everyone.. i received another call from the kids father this morning.. once again apologizing for the entire situation and letting me know that i could come back and the door was always open and everything else.. he mentioned he'd be giving me some money as soon as he gets some.. i'm not going to count on it.. but if it does.. then fine.. if not.. at least i'll get what i was expecting.

los angeles is a big place.. i'm sure there's money to be made quickly somewhere..

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Originally Posted by vthomlinson

he mentioned he'd be giving me some money as soon as he gets some..

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But it's my understanding that's the same thing they've been telling you for years. They are walking over you. If you don't go back, will they go without a nanny or will they hire a new one? The new one isn't going to stay long without getting paid. If they can't give you cash, don't go back unless they sign over title to a car or give you something tangible that is of value. They've used you for too long and it's up to you to stop them, whether that means walking away or standing up to them. Good luck.

i have no intentions of going back.. some very serious apologies are due and it seems as if the kid's mother doesn't even realize it.. she honestly thinks that's how you are supposed to treat people.. she just doesn't get it.. and i doubt she ever will.

Just to clarify what has been said about getting in trouble for not paying debts, in America, you cannot be held criminally liable for unpaid debt. Debtor's prison went out of favor and law a loooooong time ago.

You do have legal recourse in this case as they owe you back wages. You could hire an attorney to file a complaint against them for the money due to you. In the event you win, you will be able to file that legal judgment against them. Essentially, this is like a lien and you can then execute your judgment. Seize their bank account, garnish their pay checks, etc. The problem is, given your situation, you probably don't have the money right now to pay the attorney.

This is my little bit of legal advice. :)

As far as the personal matter, I am sorry about what happened, but it seems like you are 100% certain with your decision and that is important. Good job on standing up for yourself and making the right decision for you, no matter how hard it was leaving those children. I have a lot of respect for you given that you were able to do that.

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

Just to clarify what has been said about getting in trouble for not paying debts, in America, you cannot be held criminally liable for unpaid debt. Debtor's prison went out of favor and law a loooooong time ago.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

As far as money goes forget it. if you took them to court you need to pay a lawyer and what would you get? Did you have a written contract or if it was verbal do you have witnesses who could testify?

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Just when I am lulled into thinking the US starts to make sense, people mention things like this and I feel like an alien watching CNN :)

Employment without contract can be technically valid, but there is not a soul here who'd do it. Any IRS guy seeing things like that will go for blood because tax evasion is the only time where work is done without written contract. And both parties know that apart from that, they won't have leg to stand on in case of conflict.

As for not being criminally liable for non payment... weird.
OVer here that is breach of contract, and there is a fairly short margin before the bailifs start seizing your stuff. As soon as the validity of the contract is established and your refusal to pay is documented, things start happening fast.

It's for this reason that repossession is not a risky 'cowboy' profession over here. The bailifs show up, with police if it's warranted, and you either hand over the keys or you go to jail.

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Originally Posted by vthomlinson

i have no intentions of going back.. some very serious apologies are due and it seems as if the kid's mother doesn't even realize it.. she honestly thinks that's how you are supposed to treat people.. she just doesn't get it.. and i doubt she ever will.

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I'm sorry to keep harping on it, but it seems to me, given the way they have used you that an apology without cash would be nothing more than a manipulative ploy.

I sorry to hear about your unfortunante circumstances. I have had friends rip me off before, for what to me is large sums of money, at least for me the lost of trust always hurts worse than the money though that would be nice too. Lucky for me no one else was involved I can't imagine the added burden of children being involved. Try to recoup the money I know it's not the most important factor but it's the only one you have some control over. You can't make them apologize or explain the situation to the kids. Good luck!

BTW, I hope the kids are raising absolute HELL!

So sorry to hear about your situation and sorry for the kids too. I hope everything will turn out ok for you. There will be better days ahead. Remember that you didn't let the children down but it was their mother who let you down.


Have to ask that don't you have authorities there who watch out and take care of situations like this? Sort of a paysafe we have here. Whenever employer doesn't pay workers for whatever reason, you can ask help from paysafe and they try and will sort it out. Sooner or later you get what belongs to you.They are neutral, not only pro-worker authorities and they make sure that everything goes by the law, for both worker and for employer too. Of course you have to have a contract with your employer, but nobody here really works or hires workers without written contract. Contract is a sort of a back up fpr both worker and employer.