A guy I know has asked me for some advice on a situation, and I'm stumped.

Bruce used to work two jobs. He lost one, through no fault of his own (cutbacks), and because of that, he lost his apartment.

A lifelong friend offered to let him move in -- the friend has a big house, is married, and owns a business. Bruce has worked on and off for this friend's business for years.

The problem is, Bruce is actually now running the business for the guy and not getting paid anything. He thought the arrangement would be that he would work for a regular salary and then pay his friend for rent at the house.

But the actual arrangement has been that Bruce doesn't get paid anything, and has to do all kinds of work at the house (dishes, laundry, snow shoveling, etc.) as well.

Because of his low income, Bruce was able to get on food stamps, but his friend is taking a large percentage of that, too.

Bruce is in a bit of a dilemma here, because he has nowhere else to go, but clearly he's having issues with being treated as slave labor.

He says everyone tells him he should leave, but he doesn't see that as a realistic option.

When he talked to me about it, I assumed there must be some sort of social services agency that would handle this kind of thing. And I've been looking but I can't find anything.

Has anyone ever run across a situation like this? I'd like to be able to help the guy out but I don't know what to tell him.

wow, can't touch that! but, i suppose the two of them talking to arrive at an amicable solution is out of the question?

Lex, he is in between a rock and a hard place. He might need to check out the labor laws in his state and look for some place to stay.

Not to be inconsiderate towards Bruce but, He is basically working for housing, food, gas, electric, and so on. Join the club brother.........

Hummm maybe if he has a friend that can take him in till he gets another job and tell his buddy see ya and turn his *** in to the employment office for back wages.......

Sorry to say that I would live in my car first and have never done that but would if someone was taking advantage of me to that extreme.

In Connecticut we have a department of social services. He might want to check into the social service department in the town he lives in (if there is one).

I know here in Vermont they have a program called Homeshare. What it does is teams up responsible adults who need a place to stay with seniors that need some assistance staying in their homes. The person helps out with things like shopping, minor house work or things that the senior has trouble doing now. They provide some companionship as well, in exchange for housing.

Perhaps they have something similar in Bruce's area. Just a thought.

Oohhh boy Bruce is in trouble huh....

Well he could try social services but here in new York they usually don't help a young single guy who's capable of working and does not have a family to support

he could go to the board of labor to see if they could hook him up with a paying job

he could sit these people down for a pow-wow and tell them how he feels. Maybe they can pay him enough so he can save for a place

this is a hard predicament to be in.....

Warm weather is coming soon. Might be time to live outside for a while.

Logically, if Bruce wrote down the cost of all the utilities
plus the cost of rent, etc, versus the hours he puts in at
slave labor...maybe they are closer than we think?

It does sound like he may have extra time to look elsewhere.
Also, maybe the new landlords aren't attempting to make it
seem like Shangri-la, in the hopes his visit is short?

while i agree on a general basis with what you said,im not sure this applies to bruce...esp this extra time thingy you mention?

maybe im missing something,but it sounded like bruce is not only running this mans business,but hes Also doing all his housework and yard duties too?

and has No money incoming??!!
plus homer is stealing bruces food stamps too??
thats just not right.

on a basic level,one guy living in a large house,thats already occupied by a Family--> cannot be expected to pay for ALL the bills..just saying.

thats kind of shitty...no,im wrong..its brutally shitty.
and i have run into this scenario before..i would call bruce`s so called lifelong "friend" a USER.

and i would advise bruce to find a diff place,perhaps someone else he can trade off his food stamps towards living there.

theres no way you can help him lex?

My first suggestion would be to call around to apts complexes and motels,,to see if THEY might have an apt, for working at their complex? It would be alone, and less work really..
The second would be to say,,truck drivers are STILL in demand and Many train NEW DRIVERS AND PAY THEM THROUGH THERE TRAINING?
bOTTOM LINE WOULD BE TO NOT SHARE HIS MONIES FOR FOOD WITH THEM,,AS HE is doing all the work there,,,sorry for the caps,Lex,,slip,,,,

You need find the federal labor laws and read all the fine print and then get an appointment with a atturney, around here they don't charge for the first hour and you can get ALOT of free legal advice in an hour if you have all your ducks in a row when you go see one.
I only see two way out of this situation. Your friend is screwed and just gonna have to bend over and take in the a** or get a lawyer and sue the guy for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ bucks

Does he have a contract or some kind of signed employment agreement? If he doesn't he's pretty much screwed. He can try talking to a lawyer
but it might not do him much good. There are cases of people who have brought people over from the Philippines and other places essentially to be paid household workers who then did not pay and kept people against their will being successfully taken to court. But these are rare cases.

go to salvation army get a bus ticket somewhere else where he has a friend so he can start rebuilding his life

lot of unknown variable.

Can Bruce find employment of any kind or just not somehing he likes. Beggars can't be choosers. Economy is bad yes but there are jobs out there if a peron is wiling to work.

Can Bruce document the work he is doing? He needs to. Working without being paid is against the law. Even if he is getting certain privileges he still is supposed to be paid a minimum and in many places is required to have and employment contractr. At least something that documents he is not recieve gifts that he could late have to pay taxes on. His landlord has to claim his work as income and pay taxes on him. And workeman's compensation. ect. .

Bruce is technically speaking a "Displaced worker" and has special assistance as a DIsplaced worker. As a displaced worker he well could be also entitled to DIvision of Vocational Rehabilitation. Or assistance to get into the trade unions apprentice ship programs.

He is ALSO a Displaced Homemaker and can get a comprehensive assessment and assistance to go to GED training even college. Usually but not always these programs are part of the Community college setting. He may have to have his current Landlord to give him a notice of Eviction but sounds like he is going to get that involuntarily if the guy is giving him the "treatment".

Sounds like Bruce may be overwhelmed and Depressed; a quick intake assessment at the county mental health (done on slideing scale free if this guy is getting foodstamps) can help find him some serious life coaching plus probably set him up in a board and care home for what ever his State's public assistance pays under a temporary disability. There are state assistance programs to fill the gap between when a person becomes disabled and actually can collect social security. A mental health counselor can help him fill out the applications and tie it all together. SOme times this is done as and individual and other times it is in groups where he can find peer support.

What this Landlord can NOT do is take his Food Stamps. That is welfare fraud. Food Stamps are to benifit the reciepient to provide only for HIS nutrion and no one elses.

The earlier post that says something to the effect that this friend is trying to make the situation intolerable for Bruce is probably pretty close to the truth.

I seriously doubt this guy is really running the business for his Landlord. He may be doing a lot of the work but a bussiness is a lot more complicated than just showing up and doing the work. THere are all kinds of paperwork things, capital investment, building a customer base, ect. ect.. If Bruce is running the business then he needs to take those skills and apply them to another job

I think going to Salvation Army is not a bad idea if you actually look into one of their training programs but getting a bus ticket to just another place where someone else is making his choices for him is not going to do a lot for his self esteem or his quality of life,

I do think he is a lucky person to have what appears to be at least two friends in the world, You and his current Ladlord/employer. That puts him ahead of a lot of folks. Talking to friends and looking for ideas is a good place to start in reorganizeing your life. Hopefully he is doing more than just drifting and complaining. Being a victim really just sets a person up to be more of a victim of the next person who comes along. Ny of the number of resources I have mentioned can help him work that concept through.

If he can work out some documented form to show he is paying a rent share he is entitled to a Renter's Rebate through the state funded by the Federal Government which would be a sizeable amount toward a first months rent.

With so many Legit LandLord's trying to get occupancy up it is really a Renter's market. Especially if he can show he is drug and alcohol free. Many job applications require that documentation so getting a potential employer to test him (they are required to give him a written copy of his results).

If a drug or alcohol issue exists going to AA is and excellent way to find all kinds of referrals from a sponsor.

I wish Bruce a better New Year. Thank you for careing. Hope this helps you feel less frusterated with his situation.

If he had anywhere to go or anyone to go to, he would have been gone months ago.

I'm sorry to hear that Lex

There is very little available in his area. Making matters worse, he has no transportation.



He is afraid to push any of this very hard because the ramifications could have him out on the street. While he's not in a great situation at the moment, at least he has a roof of sorts over his head.



He's been to several colleges and is well-educated. That's not the problem.



He does have a history of depression and has been hospitalized for it, and has been on medication in the past. He mentioned being on something called Sinequan (? -- not sure of the spelling) back in the '80s for 2 years, says he took himself off of it because it was turning him into a zombie.

He has applied for disability and was told he does not qualify.



He is handling all of the accounting, banking, parts ordering, phone calls, sales, repairs, advertising, etc. The owner barely bothers to show up anymore.



He would love to do that. We just haven't been able to find a way to make it happen.



Technically, he's not paying any tangible rent. He's not getting paid for his work and they're letting him stay at their house in exchange.



Provided he has a source of income, yes. That's not the case here.



Well, I wouldn't be involved in this if he was using drugs or alcohol.



It's hard not knowing what to tell him. I've checked every social services agency I can find in his area, but basically they're only geared toward helping families with kids.

"But the actual arrangement has been that Bruce doesn't get paid anything, and has to do all kinds of work at the house (dishes, laundry, snow shoveling, etc.) as well."

There's NOTHING wrong with helping out around the house... I would expect help from him but not doing MY laundry or MY dishes for cripes sake.
The sad thing about this is he's a lifelong friend taking advantage
It's hard to think someone would do that to a complete stranger, doing it to a friend boggles the mind.

couple of questions come to mind:

How long has he been there?

Does he owe the owner money?

Is there a cut-off date?

Not that it matters.... I was just curious


To answer the original question... In Canada, there was this case about an employer who hadhis employee go to his house to mow his lawn and do other chores.

I can see the bossmans point... He's paying him so why not?
The court ruled otherwise... Here,you can't hire someone for a job then tack on UNRELATED work. He got slammed for 100K!