Wage Order

[Reddrocket07]

Im moving to a new employer. I am worried that a wage order may reduce my chance for advancement in the future. As such, I would like to just make payments directly to the trustee. My lawyer originally told me that if I ever moved to a new employer, I could continue to make payments directly to the trustee and not have a wage order. However, the paralegal said I can only do so for 2 months, which the lawyer neglected to mention. Anyone know if a wage order is mandatory in Ohio?

[flowerchild]

I would suggest revisiting this conversation with your attorney and letting him/her know of your concerns. I was in the same position as yourself and I told them that due to the nature of my job and the position that I held, that if a wage order was issued that I believed that it would hinder any chance for future promotions. Even though I work for a relatively large organization, you would be surprised as to the personal information that gets out and of course is distorted after passing through the grapevine. My trustee agreed so I was able to send in my payments directly during my entire case. I'm not sure if the wage order is mandatory in Ohio, but I had heard over and over that a wage order was mandatory in my state and as you can see, it wasn't true.

[Pandora]

It shouldnt have ANY affect on your job at all -...it's not a garnishment - but a 'direct pay' in effect.

look through your personnel manual (HR should have it) and review it so you know what they can and cannot do.

[flowerchild]

It shouldnt have ANY affect on your job at all -...it's not a garnishment - but a 'direct pay' in effect.

look through your personnel manual (HR should have it) and review it so you know what they can and cannot do.

I agree that it shouldn't have any affect on your job....but your opinion is from one who is or has been involved in a bankruptcy, so your view as well as mine are skewed towards us . We all here understand more than the average person about bankruptcy. Even though this economy has tanked and people have lost their jobs or had significantly reduced incomes, some people vehemently believe that if you file bankruptcy that you skate out on paying your bills and that you are a "has been". Some of those very people could be directly involved with your job and CAN AND WILL put up a barrier for any future job opportunities. Of course this is done under the guise that it is something else that you did to prevent advancement. Now mind you I am not talking about the mom and pop corporations, but the big corporations that everyone knows of. I have heard the gossip about others personal lives in the office which includes finances. I have heard Director say that they wouldn't hire a fellow colleague in their department because they had a tattoo in an inconspicuous part of the body but follow up with "besides, this person is going through financial ruins with the wife and kids so I don't believe they will be a good fit right now in my department".

Really????

So this person, that you have worked with for over 10 years, and has had nothing but stellar reviews, made employee of the year 2 times in those 10 years, saved the company over $5 Millions dollars last year alone, and that has a tattoo on his arm that has been there since he was in his early 20's, but you just found out about at a company picnic (which shows you how much he really knew about this guy), you deem is not qualified for this position because of his tattoo? Or is it because you don't like the fact that he is going through financial ruins (i.e. bankruptcy, possibly divorce, and giving up the big house for something smaller and manageable) and you think he is a loser for doing so? This guy is such a great asset to the company, but somehow his personal finances (which was leaked out some kind of way) play a bigger role in his success than it should because this turd face Director has a different opinion on personal bankruptcy. I tell you, this is by far the most preposterous thing I have heard but unfortunately it is the truth. I have no idea whether or not it is true that the guy filed bk or not, but the point is that this turd face believes he did and is using his tattoo as the "real" reason. I was so put off by this that I couldn't wait to get out of this guy's office because I thought I was going to explode.

And that is why I didn't want my current employer knowing anything about my personal finances by having a wage order assigned. Now I'm not saying that all corporations work like this because I know that they are not. It just so happened that I have seen this with very large organization that I work for. That is another reason why I have remained at my current job during my bk because I don't want to move to another company with that stigma attached to me. Needless to say that as soon as I get my discharge papers, well I'm free to move on elsewhere.

[frogger]

And that is why I didn't want my current employer knowing anything about my personal finances by having a wage order assigned.

Perhaps this statement should read: I don't want my employer knowing anything about my personal finances, my personal life, my tattoos, my cousin that's a crack-head, my brother-in-law that's a thief, my dog that bites, my car that doesn't run.... etc. Get the picture? You need to keep your personal business personal. And, that means not posting everything on Facebook people!

Now I'm not saying that all corporations work like this .

Why not? Most do.

Corporations don't work period. People that work in corporations do.

Your employer is (and should be) on the lookout for potential problems with its employees, whether financial or personal, in order to mitigate problems that could arise in the future.

99% of the sheeple give away so much personal information. Information that can and probably will be used against you at some point in your life.

The word of the day?

Mum is the word.

[lillymarlene]

Flowerchild, I sure agree. The less you say sometimes to certain people the better off you are. I just found out from a family member that my father once refused to hire a man, when the applicant told him that he had filed bankruptcy, because of divorce. (This was many years ago, when maybe an employer could outwardly discriminate against a person who had a chapter 7 or 13 on their record.) My father I guess, was absolutely horrified over the thoughts of having somebody who couldn't properly run his own finances working for him. Though years later he died heavily in debt himself, with a negative net worth.

[Reddrocket07]

What should impact your job and what actually impacts your job are two very different things. Legally, can they hold it against me? No. However, will that prevent me from getting a job, raise, or promotion behind closed doors? You bet! I have worked long enough in the field to understand that.

My lawyer told me before we filed that if we switch jobs, then we wouldn't have to go through another wage order. However, the paralegal is telling me we have to. I could take it up with the lawyer, but it will end up costing me more money. I loathe calling my attorney for that reason.

[Reddrocket07]

I also heard from other debtors that this particular law firm manipulates the law to make sure they get paid. So there is a distinct possibility the lawyer told my wife and I what we wanted to hear before filing so we would use their firm.

It makes me mad too because a previous co-worker and her spouse qualified for a Chp. 7 and the couple made the same amount as us. Their lawyer was able to manipulate their income so they qualified. The Lawyer even encouraged them to buy a new car with CC debt and they went on a vacation 6 months before they filed. They kept the car and got a vacation out of it. Things just aren't always fair with BK. I had another friend who filed a 7 after they used CC's to go on a new vacation and buy a new motorcycle. He was able to keep the motorcycle and his house!

[LadyInTheRed]

It makes me mad too because a previous co-worker and her spouse qualified for a Chp. 7 and the couple made the same amount as us. Their lawyer was able to manipulate their income so they qualified. The Lawyer even encouraged them to buy a new car with CC debt and they went on a vacation 6 months before they filed. They kept the car and got a vacation out of it. Things just aren't always fair with BK. I had another friend who filed a 7 after they used CC's to go on a new vacation and buy a new motorcycle. He was able to keep the motorcycle and his house!

Finding a good attorney can make all the difference!

ETA: It could also be that your friends' situations had different facts from yours that worked in their favor. Two people can have the exact same income and only one will qualify for a 7. Each case is different.