OP here. She sure did open a can of worms with me. I found out she doesn't have a salon license. She's been operating illegally for 3 years! I never would have looked any of this up if she had just paid me.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, 17:49. I'm not sure how this works if she's treating me as a contractor working for commissions vs. as an employee. I will draft an email to her so I can follow up with legal action on Monday, if needed. I do know she is lawsuit happy because she is currently taking a former employee to court for "stealing" clients.

No wages, just commission and tips? I'd take her to small claims court (after trying to get it in writing from her that she owes you the money). What proof do you have? Are you able to document in any way what she owes you? Her bs about non-competes doesn't affect you, because there was never an executed agreement between you.

At some point after you get your money, will you let us know what salon it is, so we can avoid it?

OP here. The owner told me she is currently in court enforcing her non-compete. By chance I happened to meet the person she is suing by doing some networking in my profession. The person being sued had been told non-competes don't hold up in VA, but they are going to trial.

But this isn't about the non-compete. It's about her withholding my commission and my tips.

Anonymous wrote:Non-competes can't be enforced it VA. They are mainly used to scare employees.

Only time I've seen one actually enforced in VA was when the person who left was a software developer and went to a competitor.

Well written ones, with reasonable time and geographic restrictions, absolutely are enforceable in Virginia. I'd protest more, but your second sentence agrees with me.

Non-competes can't be enforced it VA. They are mainly used to scare employees.

Only time I've seen one actually enforced in VA was when the person who left was a software developer and went to a competitor.

Thanks, 17:49. I'm not sure how this works if she's treating me as a contractor working for commissions vs. as an employee with wages. I will draft an email to her so I can follow up with legal action on Monday, if needed. I do know she is lawsuit happy because she is currently taking a former employee to court for "stealing" clients.

Thanks, 17:49. I'm not sure how this works if she's treating me as a contractor working for commissions vs. as an employee. I will draft an email to her so I can follow up with legal action on Monday, if needed. I do know she is lawsuit happy because she is currently taking a former employee to court for "stealing" clients.

Me again. This really burns me so I looked up the penalty and it looks like she could be fined an additional $1000 dollars. Cite the statute in your email to her. If she does not respond to your email and send her a certified letter requiring a return receipt with her specific signature.

http://law.justia.com/codes/virginia/2006/toc4001000/40.1-29.html

17:49 here. I would note in your email to her that it was her decision to let you work without a signed noncompete. That's on her.

Small Claims. I'd spell everything out in an email to her, get her response, and then file. You should look up the law and Virginia because she may be liable for damages on top of what she owes you. Maybe some DCUM Virginia lawyer knows about this.

Small Claims Court, for sure.

she is lying about her lawyer, hoping to scare you off. And, make sure you tell everyone who works in that salon in most cases, that non -compete clauses are not valid for 1099 workers. Tell her that you will report to the IRS that she has been treating her 1099s as waged employees by having them sign non competes and that she will be hearing from your lawyer about back wages.

I would take it to small claims court.

It's close to $1000, which isn't much in the big picture. I don't understand why she wants to bring lawyers into this. I've already talked to 4 lawyer friends and she definitely owes me. And she needed to give me the non-compete before I actually started doing work for her. And to be honest she is paying employees as 1099ers so she can be in trouble with the IRS, too. I'm just waiting for a referral to a labor lawyer.

Honestly I would just chalk it up to a lesson learned and forget about it because it will cost you more to try and fight it then you'll get ever get back. I'm assuming it's only a few hundred dollars, right?