Harriette Cole: My employee was so nasty toward me that I’m not going to pay her

DEAR HARRIETTE I m an entrepreneur and I often hire freelance or contract workers to help encouragement my business Related Articles Harriette Cole It s overwhelming to be the thriving sibling Harriette Cole I was rattled to see my enemy in the group chat for our girls trip Harriette Cole Out of nowhere my neighbor set the conversation on an unpleasant path Harriette Cole How can I teach this crooked mechanic a lesson Harriette Cole Why can t we have a nice anniversary like my friends did Of late I had an employee who wasn t satisfied with my performance as her boss She took to social media and slandered me personally using foul language lying about work conditions and discussing her compensation She was saying that the work she was doing for me is worth far more than I paid her totally forgetting the fact that she signed a contract and agreed to disclosed compensation Based on her thoroughly unprofessional behavior I decided to withhold her last payments as I feel she put my entire business and its reputation at stake with her residents performance and poor decisions How do I get myself out of this situation Irrational Employee DEAR IRRATIONAL EMPLOYEE If you owe this person money you should pay her so that you have proof that you fulfilled your obligations Denying her compensation will only fuel her fire Send her final paycheck in the mail Then block her and move on DEAR HARRIETTE I was just now offered a new job that I was excited about It felt like a huge breakthrough for me the kind of opportunity I had been working toward for years I went through multiple rounds of interviews got the official offer signed the paperwork and even started making plans to relocate I notified all of my friends and family and we celebrated together It felt like such a proud moment Then out of nowhere the company rescinded the offer They claimed it was due to organizational changes but it felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me I had already quit my previous job and was prepared to start this next chapter Now I m left scrambling with no job no backup plan and a lot of shame I can t stop thinking about how excited I was when I shared the news and now I feel embarrassed and like I ve let everyone down How do I recover from something like this emotionally professionally and socially How do I shake the feeling that I got ahead of myself even though I thought everything was official Flat-Footed DEAR FLAT-FOOTED I wonder if you have any legal rights to push back against the new employer since both sides signed the paperwork You may want to consult an attorney to determine if there s any way you can recoup anything by pushing back on them Otherwise this is a horrible situation and you are left having to pick up the pieces It will take time Related Articles Dear Abby My parents won t let me move out until I repay them for college Asking Eric It s going to get back to my husband that I m not being nice Harriette Cole It s overwhelming to be the profitable sibling Miss Manners The women at work ignored me whenever I spoke What should I have done Dear Abby Her teen boyfriend confided to me that he drinks a lot Start by acknowledging that you did nothing wrong Whatever happened was outside of your power or awareness but now you must move on Start looking for a job Talk to your former employer and explain what happened perhaps they will take you back Look around at promising opportunities What do you want to do for work Think outside the box As you are considering all options be willing to accept short-term work or temp work to help pay the bills in the interim The rest will heal over time Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams You can send questions to askharriette harriettecole com or c o Andrews McMeel Syndication Walnut St Kansas City MO