Thread: Forced pay cut

One of the park districts I have been teaching at this whole year sent me an email telling me that starting next month they are cutting the spilts for all the contractual instructors. Isn't this something that is supposed to be renegotiated? I signed an agreement with them to be an independant contractor to teach the belly dance class for a certain split amount, then they told me last minute I had to have liability insurance, which I got and now they're going to cut my split? Can they do this?

Do you have a copy of the contract? You can email it to me if you want. I'm not a lawyer but I do read contracts all day :)

Depends on the terms of your contract. If you've been at the pd for a year, it sounds like your contract term is up and this is the "renegotiation." If you're into a new contract, signed-sealed-and delivered, and they are now attempting to impose new terms, you can probably hold them to the terms of the signed contract, or cancel and walk away. They may not want to cancel a class that's making money for them.

Can you email a copy of it to me? I'll ask the attorney in my office to take a peek at it.

I'm searching for it right now.

Originally Posted by mahira-michelle

One of the park districts I have been teaching at this whole year sent me an email telling me that starting next month they are cutting the spilts for all the contractual instructors. Isn't this something that is supposed to be renegotiated? I signed an agreement with them to be an independant contractor to teach the belly dance class for a certain split amount, then they told me last minute I had to have liability insurance, which I got and now they're going to cut my split? Can they do this?

Usually, these contracts are from year-to-year, from Jan-Dec. So, all other things being equal, this would be the time of year for this to happen.

Just a little story: my mom started teaching for the City of Fullerton (Orange County, CA) over 30 years ago, with an 80/20 split. Several years ago, that split went to 50/50 and an admin fee was added as well. So, prices had to rise $5 just to cover the admin fee and she was getting so much less per student. I now teach that class. There is no "negotiation" with this particular city, or very many cities; you either accept their terms or you teach somewhere else.

Deborah

my boyfriend is a freelance english teacher at a bunch of language school. there are no negotiations.

of course they cant do this, or shouldnt, but it's usually a matter of sucking it up, or walking out the door...

but do try to stand up for yourself!

Unfortunately government entities everywhere are feeling the same financial crunch that regular folks feel. In many communities across my state local park and recreation departments are closing parks, limiting hours, shutting down programs like dance or exercise classes.

I am a state government employee. There is a possibility that we may see pay cuts (5 percent is one figure being tossed around) or furloughs. Some of my staff would be unable to meet mortgage payments or car payments if furloughed.

The alternative your park and rec dept might be faced with is simply saying we can no longer afford to offer your class or we are closing x y z rec centers for the foreseeable future.

Souzan

Numerous Parks and Rec Centers in several nearby counties have closed. They hope to maintain one open in each county. That also leads to the staff being unemployed shortly before the holidays. The crunch is everywhere. I overheard someone at a grocery store state the PD they worked for had been behind in paying their full utility bill each month for quite a while. The pools did not open for the summer so everyone was hoping the cut-backs would suffice. Sadly that was not enough.

I also read a fairly new, lovely senior citizen day-center closed. For some people knowing their parents had decent day care was the only way they were able to work. So the situation is far-reaching. I am thankful to have a regular paycheck, at least for now.