New employers want me to pay for broken glass, only problem is they say it's a $250 glass

[Anonymous]

I've been with this family for 2 weeks. They seem ok, but scatterbrained. I unfortunately accidentally broke a wine glass that was in the sink. I was cleaning up dishes and it toppled over and shattered. They seemed super upset and said it was a wedding gift. They told me they were going to dock my pay $250, the cost of the glass.

I think this is ridiculous. It was an accident and that's almost half my paycheck. I almost feel like i'm being conned. What can I do?

[Anonymous]

Look for a replacement yourself. It seems a bit much. Find a new job. If it was expensive they should not have left it out.

[Anonymous]

Quit. Really. These are nightmare people.

If you can't quit right away, tell them that if they dock your pay $250, you will take them to small claims court to get it back. Tell them to put in a claim on their homeowner's insurance if it means so much to them.

I honestly don't know what to tell you. I know jobs aren't a dime a dozen, but that they would even consider this is outrageous. Either one of them could have done the same thing; it's a hazard of owning glass objects and doing dishes. You weren't negligent, and you don't owe them for the glass. I don't know how to make them see that, though.

[Anonymous]

This is the reason we don't own $250 wine glasses. We live wine and could theoretically afford them but wine glasses break. Blaming your nanny for an accident is a terrible way to behave. I would quit if you can.

[Anonymous]

QUIT. That is absolutely ridiculous. Any $250 glass should not have been left in the sink and YOU should not have been doing any dishes except the child's dishes. Seriously, OP, these people are nuts and docking your pay is ILLEGAL. If they try it, call the Labor Board.

More importantly - QUIT NOW.

[Anonymous]

I would have quit the second they told me they were going to dock my pay. They are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Definitely quit, they sound awful. Accidents happen and they shouldn't be doing this. If they were decent people, they would let it go

[Anonymous]

I have to agree w/the PPs on here.

Give this crazy family your walking papers immediately & do not give them any notice since it sounds like they would be receiving free labor.

I guarantee if you gave them a standard 2-week notice, they would immediately dock your pay.

Don't give them the opportunity.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Once, when I was cleaning the coffee pot in the sink, it slipped from my hands and broke. As soon as MB came home that evening, I told her about accidentally breaking it. Her response? That it shouldn't have broken, because it wasn't my job to clean it. (she was making a joke). Although I offered to pay for a replacement, she absolutely refused.

The point is: they shouldn't have left the wine glass in the sink where it could be easily knocked over. Accidents happen. Things break.

[Anonymous]

This is awful. No one needs a $250 wine glass. This isn't even something that needs replaced.

[Anonymous]

Your pay cannot be "docked" unless something like that is listed in your contract. I can only hope you are working legally so you have some recourse. Report them to the Labor Commission and tell them that you are going to do so.

And quit.

[Anonymous]

How broken is it? Can you not just glue it together?

[Anonymous]

Bull! Was it a Baccarat Czar glass? Refuse to pay and it is illegal for them to dock your pay without your written permission.

[Anonymous]

they were careless with a $250 glass so it is their own responsibility to replace it and apologize to you for being careless. you or the kids could have gotten cut on the broken glass. they should keep things like that put away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bull! Was it a Baccarat Czar glass? Refuse to pay and it is illegal for them to dock your pay without your written permission.

It looks like your run of the mill glass wine glass. Only difference is their initials are chiseled into the glass. They said it was a gift. It was sitting in the sink, I barely touched it and it fell over and shattered. No way fixing it.


My BF thinks they don't have the money to pay me my full pay and we're looking for ways to pay me less. Felt like a set up.