FYI The company filed bankruptcy. Chapter 11
Correction: The co. owes Jimmy $15000 that he is liking not to get.
Sounds like neither Jimmy, nor you, owe these people any courtesies at all.
Jimmy should download his personal photos and info, and assume the computer and work info is property of the company.
Ask Sen. Cruz to intervene, he speaks Canadian.
The computer is not his, it is the company's property, or likely more correctly the creditor's. It shouldn't have family photos and other personal information on it. If he wants to play dumb and say no one said where to send it, that is his choice, but it is still theft. You don't get to unilaterally seize property in a bankruptcy, you have to file with the court and the assets will be divided.
If the money owed is salary for hourly wages, that would be most likely paid first and in most localities if not completely paid he can sue executives personally for the balance.
He should remove the personal data from the computer and contact the court for where to take the computer. He can include a statement that he will accept the computer as partial payment, assigning a fair market value to it. Judges like reasonable people and honest people. Removing any assets or diminishing those assets (removing company data or making unauthorized personal copies) is a bad idea.
If the money owed was salary, that puts him second in line, but still ahead of most others. If the money owed was anything else, then the terms of the agreement may have some strength, but overall he is part of the pack of creditors and most will lose money on the deal.
Hope this helps, but with limited information, I did my best.
If not his property, return the computer. It is not his. He will feel good having done the right thing. He will always feel a little dirty each time he uses the computer.
I’m no lawyer, but if someone were to slip me key names, I would ‘out’ the creeps. Of course, you would never do anything like that. But someone reading this might.
Tell him to watch office space and ask... what would milton do?
How did an employee get to be owed $15k? Sounds more like a contractor.
Copy all the personal info off to a USB. Then don’t delete the info. Use a program that deletes AND overwrites the info. You should overwrite it at least 32 times.
Also overwite the slack space if the program allows it.
This is a machine assigned to your brother that you have in your possession? Technically, this is receiving disputed property, or could be construed as such.
What I would do in this case is to take the personal information off the computer and give it to your brother who is responsible for it. If I were HIM and being owed wages, I’d write back whoever sent me the request to return the machine and tell them to mail a shipping carton and a prepaid shipping label with which to return the computer. Or he can inform them if they wish to come pick it up, give them an address and a reasonable time frame to do that.
He isn’t under any obligation to pay for the cost to return it himself, particularly if money is due him. In any case, you are an extra step in the process that does not need to be there.
Ask them when they’re going to come get their equipment, then wait. Keep it in good working order. They gave no notice, made no arrangements. No obligation to go out of your way.
If they want the PC, they’ll ask for it.
The PC is like a used pencil. They could care less, in my opinion. The PC is virtualy worthless after a few years. It becomes junk.
Laws regarding payment of employee wages owed normally falls under the jurisdiction of the US state where he worked (which could be different from where he lives) with overriding applicable Federal DOL regulations (whether a state or Federal DOL reg is followed, generally depends on what is the most advantageous to the employee, an example being where a state minimum wage is higher than the Federal). Under normal circumstances and employer may not withhold the payment of wages contingent upon return of company property however the company (or the trustee) has undisputed rights to the property and could sue if not returned.
When you say “Jimmy lives in U.S. and his employer lives in French Canada”, what is relevant is where the work was performed – was that work performed where Jimmy lives or another state or in Canada? Was this a US company and his boss (the person he reported to) just happens to live in Canada? But again where his boss “lives”, aside from a matter of convenience in returning any company property if it needs to be returned to him rather than the trustee, is irrelevant with respect to employment laws.
It is also not clear from your post whether Jimmy is an employee (W-2) or an independent contractor (1099) as that makes a difference, especially in a bankruptcy case. Although I would also mention that far too many companies incorrectly categorize employees as 1099 contractors in order to not pay payroll taxes (FICA), unemployment taxes and other benefits but that is a whole other long and involved topic.
Also you say it is Chapter 11 but Chapter 11 is a re-org and not a liquidation as is a Chapter 7. It could also make a difference if the company is located in Canada, as Canadian bankruptcy laws would most likely apply, although I am not sure, don’t know about Canadian business bankruptcy and that could be much more complicated. If there is a US trustee involved and a selloff of company assets, then it sounds more like US Chapter 7 (See this – Question 26 - Employer insolvency)
http://us.practicallaw.com/1-503-3486?source=relatedcontent
Depending on the type of bankruptcy filed, the rules regarding employment issues may be different. Furthermore, if the debtor has unionised units, the employer will have additional concerns in the bankruptcy proceeding. In certain instances, the Bankruptcy Code favours employees by placing some employee claims high on the priority list in relation to other creditors. In other ways, the Bankruptcy Code can mean the loss of security through cancellation of contracts and collective bargaining agreements. When an individual or entity files a petition for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court imposes an automatic stay, halting all debt collection activities from the time of the bankruptcy filing and continuing for the duration of the bankruptcy. Under the Bankruptcy Code, a creditor includes any person who has a claim against the debtor that arose at the time of, or before, the debtor filed its bankruptcy petition. A claimant in a pending employment lawsuit is considered a creditor of the defendant employer and subject to the automatic stay. Once the stay is imposed, all litigation efforts by that claimant must cease, and the claimant will need to file a proof of claim with the bankruptcy court in order to maintain the claim against the employer. The Bankruptcy Code excepts from the automatic stay any action or proceeding by a governmental unit to enforce the government's police and regulatory powers, including the enforcement of a judgment other than a money judgment.
Because it is rarely possible for a debtor in bankruptcy to pay all creditors in full, Congress has prioritised distributions to creditors, including past and present employees. Employee wages and benefits are considered unsecured debt and paid according to the priority schedule set out in the US Code.
It is also unclear why (or if) you have a laptop belonging to the company your brother worked for or why it has any of your (or his) personal information, photos, etc., on it. Was your brother a contractor to the company and you an employee of or a subcontractor to your brother? In any case, no matter who is in possession of it, the laptop along with any company owned peripheral equipment (charger, mouse, etc.), and any company information, programs, even in most cases work related intellectual property, etc., (after removing any personal information which word to the wise – never put personal info on a work owned computer) it needs to be returned and your brother is responsible for making arrangements for that. He should contact the trustee to find out how those arrangements should be made. I would think, unless or even if he is a vendor/contractor, it would not be unreasonable for him to request reimbursement for the shipping costs or as someone else suggested, a prepaid shipping container.
He should also contact the trustee and inquire as to how to file a claim for the unpaid wages (or unpaid contractor invoices).
Good luck.
Treat the computer as company property and wait until some agent notifies you of what to do with it - doing something illegal because they did something unethical only opens you up to more headaches and heartaches - there might still be a chance he gets some of what they owe him if you don’t jump the gun wit self-righteous indignation (”they wuz wrong so screw them - I’ll flail back because they deserve it”).
here is my advice; don’t seek legal advice on an internet discussion forum.
Get a thumb drive or USB external hard drive, download all of the personal info and files, and return the laptop (get a receipt for the return).
That will save future problems.
Laptops are relatively cheap, from around $250 up.
Too much missing information and bad English. Try to slow down and write a coherent description. Otherwise, no advice you get will be worth a hill of beans because it is not based on correct information.